A Higher Calling

By Natalie Nichols Gillespie

Adoption might not be an element of your life right now, but could it be soon?

Three years ago, I began running into adoption stories everywhere—and I mean everywhere. As a Christian journalist, I read them in magazines and heard them on the radio. I met families who had adopted and was captured by pictures on adoption Web sites of little faces who needed families. I couldn't shake the feeling that God was trying to tell me something. I soon found out He was.

Even though we already had six kids, we went to China in July 2006 to bring home Amberlie Joy FuShuang Gillespie. Before beginning the adoption process, we weren't convinced our family "needed" another child. But now, none of us knows what we would do without Amberlie. Yes, it took a while to get her home. And yes, it cost us some money (but not as much as you might think). But it was worth every minute and every single penny.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), there are as many as 143 million orphaned children around the world, and the number is expected to rise. While many people have considered adoption, not many actually follow through.

Christians particularly are lovingly commanded by God to extend His love to others—particularly the innocent, the young, and the poor. Jesus urged the disciples not to shoo children away from Him and said the Kingdom of God belonged to "such as these" (Matthew 19:14).

If that's the case, then the care of hurting children is not necessarily the world's problem. It's the responsibility of God's people. Kerry Hasenbalg, former executive director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, tells this story of God's revelation to her about the role orphans play in God's plan:

I had invited special friends of ours, two young ladies who became orphaned during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, to spend the holidays with us. And I was furiously preparing my house and decorating it like I had never done before. I can remember standing at my kitchen island and beginning to laugh at myself, thinking, Why in the world am I cleaning like this—as if the Queen of England is coming to stay? And immediately, I heard that still, small voice of God gently say to my heart, "Because members of my royal family are coming to stay with you." And so it was at that moment, I understood that He, the King of Kings, is serious about being the Father of the fatherless. They are the royal family of God.

Adoption gives us the opportunity to be God's hands and feet. In ancient times when Rome ruled the much of the Western world, infanticide ran rampant—sick, disabled, and orphaned infants were literally cast aside and sometimes even sacrificed. The first Christians believed in the sanctity of life and demonstrated this by taking in "unwanted" children and caring for them. The Romans took note of this, and it helped spread the Christian faith.

Developing an Adoption Plan   If you feel God's call to adopt, here are some things you can do to begin the journey toward a successful adoption.

Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly tells His people to care for the orphan, the "alien," and the widow—those who were vulnerable and could not defend or provide for themselves easily. James 1:27 sums up the value of loving and caring for those who are unwanted and unloved by the world: "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

So if you've felt even the subtlest pang of interest in an orphaned child or even the smallest flicker of curiosity about adoption, ask the Lord if He wants to fan that spark into a flame. Then, trust Him to take care of the details. As you consider adoption, focus on the resources you do have and let God take care of what you don't.

As Christians, we can show the world today that every human being is wanted and loved. Until we care about the orphans of the world as much as our heavenly Father does—enough to surrender our plans in exchange for His call—we miss an opportunity to play a hugely significant role in God's big picture. When we step out in faith in obedience to His call, we become a part of His plan for drawing the unreached to Him in one of the most tangible, practical ways possible. The joy that comes from doing so is reward beyond compare!

Visit www.successfuladoption.com to get connected with invaluable resources, personal testimonies, and links to purchase Natalie Gillespie's handbook for Christian families, Successful Adoption.