He was Chosen

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. —Psalm 9:1

Adoption changed my life.  I will never be the same.  Our family will never be the same.  I am so thankful.

Through the process of adoption it was as if I was allowed to peek into the mystery of how much my God loves me.  The lengths of love and sacrifice that He is willing to go through to make us His children.  His deep desire to adopt each of us no matter where we are at or what we have been through.  I remember at times being overwhelmed with the piles of paperwork and red tape required to get my son home.  I remember the countless fundraisers as we attempted to meet the financial deadlines looming before us.  Yes, sacrifices of time and money but not once was I asked to give my life for my child.  This one thought erased every fear that tried to make a stronghold.
   "If my Jesus could do that for me then how could I ever reject His call to adopt or his command to love the fatherless?!" 

Do you know what haunted me the most as I was waiting to bring Zalen Moise home?  The sickening reality that my precious boy could ever think that he was not wanted.  I went through a stage in my teenage years where I fell prey to depression and started believing that my life was meaningless and that I was not wanted nor loved.  The weight of those lies almost crushed me.  I could not stand that my son could very well be feeling those same horrid emotions believing he was alone and forgotten when the truth was -- HE WAS CHOSEN.

Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:  having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will -- Eph 1:4-5.

Our family may not of been plan a for his life -- because I will choose to believe that it was a sacrifice for his birth mother to give him up whether it was through death or circumstance.  Due to living in a fallen world plan a for families to stay together doesn't always happen.  I am thankful that we were written into plan b - but only because we chose to kick all the fear and excuses to the curb and say "yes" to the call God has whispered into our hearts.  God's desire was for Zalen to have a family.  God's desire is for many more orphans to have a family.

I wonder sometimes at our response?  I can't wrap my mind around the amount of resources we spend on non-eternal venues when a child is wrestling with the life altering question..

  "Am I wanted?"

Even as I am writing this I know some of you will began to push your "mute" button.  You don't want to think about it or hear it.  It is easier that way.  But please just hear me out, hear my heart in my attempt at feeble words.

Just as you needed to know that you were chosen, so do many children around the world.  Millions and millions of children.  If you truly examined your list of excuses to not get involved would they measure up?

I believe with all my heart that at least one person that will read this post needs to answer the call on their heart to adopt.  I don't know what fear still holds onto you or if the reasons are that you can't afford to.  The truth is, if this is a call upon your life from God then you can't afford not to answer it.  He is a God that makes the impossible, possible.  He took our list of "Reasons why we can't adopt" and made them laughable.  I will pray for you though unnamed, I feel it on my heart as I write.

Today, Zalen Moise, has known for 6 months now that "He is Chosen".  I get to watch as He grows and believes that important truth.  What a gift!!  He delights in loving others always giving out hugs and kisses.  He walks around the house singing "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."  Last Sunday night he went up in front of everyone at church as sang "Great and Mighty is the Lord our God"  He climbs up on the couch and stares at the family pictures on the wall - pointing himself out as if to say - "Well look at that, I have a family!" It does not escape him, the fact that love has chosen Him.

I left many behind that still need to know this one crucial truth that they are chosen.  I do not believe that it is everyone's journey to adopt but I do believe that each of us needs to be involved in defending the orphan.  Some of us need to start believing that the statistics are not just numbers.  They are real children, with real hurts, who have been robbed of having a family.  We need to quit turning a blind eye and truly love and see them as God does.  We must start to dig deep and begin to pray - "God, what can I do to let them know they are chosen?" 

God left us with the message to share - "You are chosen"  My question to you today is -- "Are you sharing it?"  If Zalen Moise could write you a message today as we celebrate him being in our lives for the past 6 months I believe that He would ask you the very same thing.  I believe he would ask because he wants another child just like himself to celebrate the same.