Generosity

So, yesterday I had the day off from school. That meant I had quite an extensive to-do-list. A good chunk of  that list was in relation to our next adoption fundraiser (the pancake breakfast and hunting outing on Saturday at our church). I wanted to sit down and run calculations of how many people to expect...get food priced and bought... decorations planned...an email reminder sent out.

Well, I didn't get around to all of that. Thanks to a little Chinese woman, my plans changed. Thanks to a little Chinese woman, I was reminded to stop focusing on all these "details". I was reminded that God has already shown that He provides and has placed some generous people in our lives.


Around 11:00 yesterday morning, Chris and I walked into the Asian market in Muskegon, looking for a few ingredients we needed for our Chinese New Year/Spring Festival party. The store was relatively small, but PACKED with clothing, drinks, food, vitamins, etc. Of course, none of the packages were written in English! So, after wandering aimlessly for a while, an older Chinese woman approached us to ask what we needed. Considering the language barrier, Chris did his best to explain what we were looking for. After some pointing and saying the few Chinese words he knew, she figured out what food we needed, but had a question: why? I guess she doesn't get many very Dutch-looking, English speaking couples in the shop looking for authentic Chinese foods! Not knowing how to describe it, Chris simply said, "we're adopting". The smile on her face showed that she knew what he meant!

That woman, who could not have been more than 4.5 feet tall, became a flurry of activity. She not only helped us find what we came in for, she also showed us other items that we, and our baby, might like. The entire time she smiled from ear to ear, almost giddy.

After we paid for our items, she threw her hands in the air and said "calendar" and proceeded to pull out a box of them.  This woman showed us several different Chinese calendars. Honestly, we weren't quite sure why she was showing us these. Was she was just really excited about them? Was she wanting us to buy one? We must have looked confused because she handed one to me saying "You adopt. For you. Your baby. China. I wrap."

We left the store with way more than we had planned on, much of which came about because of this woman's generosity. Sure, her generosity won't help cover the check that I had to write today. But in a lot of ways it was more important because it didn't have anything to do with writing a check...it had to do with love. She was generous with her time to show us around; she was generous with her excitement; she was generous with her possessions.

I realized that I didn't need to just run calculations and price food, I needed to give thanks for the generous people that God had placed in our lives through this adoption. So, for those of you who have helped us financially, offered prayers, or shown us love...Thank you!

 

Why?

Although we announced our adoption a few months ago, Chris and I still are often asked variations of the same question: Why adopt? Our answer is simple.

Because our child is in China.

There is a birth mother in China that, for either physical, financial, or cultural reasons, is not able to care for her child. God has asked us to step into this role.

You see, adoption is not our "plan B".

It seems that often people think that adoption happens when a couple cannot have children...that adoption is a "last resort". We have not experienced infertility. In fact, the opposite is true. I have been pregnant multiple times. True, we have had many heart-wrenching pregnancy struggles. We have experienced everything from miscarriage to ectopic to delivering Sam. It is exactly for that reason that Chris and I must adopt.

During one of our miscarriages, I realized that, while I could not deliver and care for my child, God could. Not only could he, He willingly is doing so! I cannot see my babies we've lost, but I have peace knowing that they are being taken care of in a safe and loving place. I am humbled that I can do that for someone else. 

Five years ago, Chris and I gave birth to Sam and we thank God everyday for him. That boy melts my heart! Our 5 year old is curious, enthusiastic, and creative. Most importantly though, he is made in God's image. More than 100,000 abandoned children from newborn to age seventeen are living in orphanages across China. Over 95% of these children are impacted by minor, major, or multiple physical conditions. All of them are also made in God's image.

I recently read that adoption is not a “spur of the moment decision. Neither is it a haphazard, emotional decision to do something good for someone else. It is a conscious decision to limit one’s own options and pleasures for the sake of extending the story of God to children who, without a link to you, may never discover their link to God”. So, we do not rejoice in the fact that children are abandoned or living in overcrowded, impoverished orphanages, but we do rejoice in the knowledge that God has a child set aside for us and that we can be that link to Him!