Held Close

Hey Readers,

Adam here. Thank you for taking the time to check out our blog. We hope you’ll be blessed. While one purpose of this blog is to inform you as to where we are in the adoption process, another is to give you a look into our heads and hearts because you care enough to check in on us. So here we go.

Last week, Lauren and I watched a documentary called Stuck. As part of our adoption, we’re required to do training—read some books, go to seminars—that kind of thing. It’s all about preparing us for the challenges we’ll face in parenting an adopted child. As we watched, I was struck by how difficult it is to adopt from overseas (which is not what we are doing this go around) and how great the need is worldwide. My heart broke for the kids they showed in orphanages. Even if the conditions were good, the film explains that kids fail to thrive unless they have someone showing them affection and care. As simple as it sounds, kids need human contact—skin to skin contact—in order to feel cared for. It is a non-verbal love language that God has beautifully worked into the parent/child relationship. Children’s brains actually fail to develop properly without this care. It was amazing to hear how imperative it is for a kid to be held by someone. I found myself just wanting to hold babies after watching.

As hard as it was to watch, the film made me excited to have our own baby someday. My wife has such a huge capacity to nurture and care for kids. It is something I love about her. And even when I was a teenager, I remember thinking that it would be so great to be a parent, to have these little people relying on you and looking to you everyday. It reminded of something I read in the book of Ephesians recently. If you read the book, it quickly becomes apparent that God’s father-like love is a main theme. In the first chapter Paul writes, “In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ…” Paul goes on to explain the life of darkness that God has taken his people from and the new life of hope and peace that he has brought them into through Jesus Christ. And then he says, “be imitators of God, as beloved children,” or another translation says, “…as dearly loved children.” I get the image of God, as a father, holding his kids close because they need that close contact with him in order to develop properly. It gives me another reason to be excited about being a Dad—that I can imitate God’s love for his kids in the process. This is a love Lauren and I will demonstrate to our child even before we get a chance to explain it.

Thank you for reading.
Adam