Musings

On Tuesday night we attended the first part of our international adoption training as required for our home study. It was very interesting and I have been processing what I learned. One thing that totally stands out is the fact that, in order for an adoption to occur, there is a loss for the child. While the concept of adoption is an amazing and wonderful thing, it can only occur because of a less than ideal circumstance for a child. Perhaps the birth mother is too young to parent. Perhaps, as is likely the case for our future child, illness, poverty, or death make it impossible for the birth mother to be able to take care of her. Whatever the case may be, we know that down the line we will be dealing with identity issues and some tough questions from our daughter. For now, it is easy to be focused on all the paperwork and planning. When all of that is completed and we finally meet our girl, an entirely different chapter of our lives will begin. A family member has raised a question as to whether we know what we're doing because of the impact it will have on our biological children. I believe they are only going to be better people because of this step our family is taking. They are very excited about having a sister. Isaac keeps telling me that he wants our baby NOW! Honestly, I think there is a very good reason why it takes so long to adopt a child. We have so much preparation to do individually and as a family.