Kids ‘R Us
Posted on November 12, 2007
Filed Under Orphan Care |
My mother died when I was nine. My dad died when I was twelve. With both parents gone, I became an orphan back in elementary school. Which is why I relate so closely to the deep longing orphans have for a family where they can belong; for a place to call home.
No wonder my heart goes out to the 143 million orphans worldwide who hunger for the chance to call someone “Mom” and “Dad” and to feel safe in their care. 
I know from first hand experience what if feels like to drift through life without the anchor of a parent’s unconditional love. I’m far too familiar with the unsettled feeling that comes from having no permanent address.
When I’m asked why Focus on the Family is involved in orphan care, the answer is easy. The Bible is straightforward about our need to take care of the widow and the orphan. That’s why we’ve created an alliance with FamilyLife and Shaohannah’s Hope called Cry of the Orphan. During the week of November 12-16, Focus on the Family and these organizations will be raising awareness about the incredible opportunity to change the life of an orphan forever.
I realize it’s natural to feel overwhelmed by the size and scope of the problem. After all, the number of orphans around the world who need a home is staggering. See if this perspective helps. In our corner of the globe there are 135,000 kids who go to sleep at night dreaming of the day when they might be adopted. They crave a home where a mother and father would tuck them into bed . . . where hugs, laughter, and acceptance abound.
135,000 kids right here in America. That’s a big number.
At the same time, there are more than 300,000 churches in this country. Think about it–that’s less than one child per church. One of the best ways God’s people can demonstrate the love of Christ is by adopting these children. Talk about sending an authentic display of unconditional love to a culture which seems to be skeptical about the church.
As you acquaint yourself with the Cry of the Orphan, you’ll probably come across this often quoted verse from the Bible: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27.
At first glance, the second part of that verse might not make sense. What does keeping oneself from being “polluted” by the world got to do with caring for widows and orphans? I think part of the answer lies in the fact that our American culture seems preoccupied with serving oneself rather than in practicing self-sacrifice. There’s a very real temptation to entertain ourselves endlessly with sports, movies, hobbies, and an assortment of materialistic eye-candy.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that those things are inherently wrong. But if the pursuit of them takes us away from loving and caring for those who are hurting, that’s when we’ve allowed the world to pollute our core values.
Adoption isn’t for every couple, but I invite you to spend some time this week discovering if God might be tugging at your heart to adopt a child who doesn’t have a family or a place to call home. In addition to learning more about adoption and foster parenting at CryoftheOrphan.com, consider reading Saving Levi, Castaway Kid, or learning more about my journey as an orphan in this video clip from Finding Home.
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4 Responses to “Kids ‘R Us”
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Jim Daly is the President of Focus on the Family. He has been married to his wife, Jean, since 1986. They have two sons. The Daly family resides in Colorado Springs. Finding Home represents Jim's musings on work, family and faith.
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It is so wonderful to fianlly have others on the plight of the orphans. My husband and I have been foster parents for 11 years and was blessed to adopt our first child in 2000. We have a great calling from God to save the children deemed by others as unadoptable. We now have 4 given to us by birth and 7 chosen for us by God and we know that He is not finished. We have faced many challenges and most which seem to come from our Christian friends and church members.I have a hard time understanding as many christians stand by and let these precious children long for a mommy and daddy. Thanks for helpimg Gods little ones.
Thirty-two years ago, I was adopted into a wonderful, loving, Christian family. Now, my husband and I along with our 3 year old daughter are on the most magnificent adventure of our lives - an international adoption. We feel so blessed to be able to give another child the opportunities that I was given through adoption. I know that we can’t bring home every child, but if we can give just one a different life through our love as well as open the eyes of our church and community to the plight of orphans, then I want to be a part of that.
I just have to share this note we received from a couple whose child-raising years were pretty much over, but who felt the Lord tugging at their heart to adopt an older child. If God’s in it, you’re never too old to change the life of an orphan. They write:
“We had two beautiful children who are now young adults. We were ‘empty-nesters’ and, to be honest, we were settled in that life. But we had always said if we had the opportunity to adopt we would.
“A little over a year ago a speaker came to our church and God used her to open our hearts to adopting a teenage orphaned girl from Ukraine. After a lot of prayer and talking to our children we decided to go ahead and start the adoption process. Five months ago we came home after spending 4.5 weeks in Ukraine with a wonderful new daughter who is now 14 (13 when we adopted her). She’s been a great addition to our family and she is so loved and, best of all, she prayed to receive Jesus as her savior a few weeks ago.
“Admittedly, it has been an adjustment having another teenager around, but a true blessing for all of us and all of our kids have bonded and love and accept and welcome each other.
“This week I am listening again to the adoption series with FamilyLife and Focus on the Family. I think one day I would like to see what can be done in our church to help get orphans adopted. I must add, Anastasia is the 12th child in the Omaha area in the past few years to get adopted from her orphanage. The 13th came home on Friday and by end of spring there should be hopefully 7 more! Wow, God is moving!
“I would love to hear some programs maybe on adopting an older child…going from empty nest to teenagers again…bringing in a teenager when you have younger kids (as many have done). All this to again say thank you!”
My husband and I adopted two siblings ages 6 and 8 just over two years ago. While this has brought much joy and laughter into our home, it has also been a tremendous challenge. Many of these children deal with attachment disorders. We have been blessed with a large circle of support, both professional and personal. It has been important for us to take advantage of respite care in order to reenergize and refocus. Again, God has provided wonderful respite care families to help us in this area. I whole heartedly believe in adoption and know it makes a difference. However, I feel strongly that families need to be well informed of the challenges as well as the joys that come with this decision.