Crazy? Crazy!

Want to know the overall most prevalent comment we get regarding our adoption?

"You're crazy!" But coming from the ones who say it, I know they mean it in the most loving, supportive way possible...as they chuckle and hug us. It's not a criticism (those come in other forms, believe you me), just an observation. I find no offense it whatsoever (at least not so far, in the way it has come and from whom it has come)!

This declaration of crazy comes from people who know our family, who love the three children we have already, and who know that life with [a job, a ministry, homeschooling, 3 children, 4 goats, 13 chickens, and an adoption] does not fit into a tidy little box that we open every morning at 7 and have wrapped up neatly with a bow by 8 p.m.

My newest response comes from the heart of what God is teaching us in a major way:

OUR LIVES ARE NOT OUR OWN.

We have been bought with a price...Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross. In accepting His free gift, we live in and through Him. And HIS life was not His own. Out of love, he was compelled to give it up, that we might have an abundant life.

There are so many so-called "rights" that we cling to. The right to a comfortable home, a decent car, free time to do whatever we want. The right to sleep in on Saturday mornings, to control our schedules.

We cling to these rights for our children, and from us they learn to cling tightly, as well. The right to lots of books, the right toys, a spacious bedroom. The right to stay in their comfort zone, to x-amount of hours of individual attention.

But you know what? Our lives are not our own. The rights to which we cling are not "rights" at all, but privileges we enjoy. They are not necessities, they are gifts. And when we start demanding gifts, a beautiful life lived in the Spirit instead becomes a downright ugly, spoiled-brat life.

To those who have heard the clear call of conviction to obey God in a particular matter, do you dare disobey for the sake of hanging on to the gifts you've been given? Or do you understand by faith that laying down your life is the only way to really live it? "anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [Because] Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:38-39).

So are we crazy to be pursuing this adoption? A resounding YES!

"Better a full, busy life lived in obedience to God
than a nicely-ordered life lived in rebellion to His call.
If you're busy, be busy with what He's handed you,
not with the things you've picked up on your own."

-WJM

I hope you've hung with me this far...sorry for a wordy, un-pictured post. We really appreciate you taking the time and effort to follow with what God is teaching us through this whole journey, to understand our hearts right now.

But I would love for you to read one more thing. It's the post that started us exploring this whole concept in a fresh way. It's a post by a 31-yr. old mom who, after having 3 biological children, adopted a sibling group of 3 kids from Ethiopia, then adopted another sibling group of 3 kids! Yes...nine children. (No, we're not headed for 9 children, I don't think)! Reading her original post will give you a better understanding of where we're at...Check it out here...thank you!

I promise to make up with pictures of our baby girl later for all the boring posts you've been enduring on this blog!