In the past few weeks I have come across many people, friends and strangers who are adopted. Most recently I am moved by conversations with friends who have graduated the foster care system. What's different is that instead of words on a page these are first-hand accounts of friends and peers. They all tell me the same exact thing. They were abused and broken as children, lived in multiple foster homes, acted out and all the while desperately wanted to be loved and feel a sense of belonging to a family. They all urged that I consider older children and asked that I pay attention to this specific need in our country. Their lives were saved by someone who adopted them over the age of 7...
In the past few weeks I have come across many people, friends and strangers who are adopted. Most recently I am moved by conversations with friends who have graduated the foster care system. What’s different is that instead of words on a page these are first-hand accounts of friends and peers. They all tell me the same exact thing. They were abused and broken as children, lived in multiple foster homes, acted out and all the while desperately wanted to be loved and feel a sense of belonging to a family. They all urged that I consider older children and asked that I pay attention to this specific need in our country. Their lives were saved by someone who adopted them over the age of 7. My desire to adopt has lived in my heart since childhood. As an adult my desire is fueled by knowing that I can really change the trajectory of someone’s life. That is so powerful. But how do I decide which child that is? I was committed to an infant but the more and more I speak to alumni of the system I am now considering an older child. I was terrified of that prior and discussed it in a previous post (Adopting a Foster Child), but now my heart has opened. Still there are barriers that exist, the size of my studio apartment being the largest one. A move is not imminent unless the real estate market rebounds in the very near future so that I can sell my apartment and move to a larger one. I don’t see that happening but that does not mean that God cannot make a way. I am so thankful for my church family. Through them I am learning so much including how to trust and rely on God, pray and have faith in his word. This is new to me as I just began my Christian walk in October 2009. I have been witness to incredible things in my life that I can testify were 100% God’s work. I am also learning about the power of prayer. So through my newfound faith and relationship with God I can say with assurance that I trust that I will be connected with the right child and that he will provide a way for our family. I am not saying that I will be irresponsible and take on more than I can handle, but I will increase and explore more options than what I was previously considering. So today I will contact the agency and open up my age range from 0-6. I look forward to learning more about all age groups and foster care when I begin my MAPP classes on Saturday. Click here for more My Adoption Chronicles with Tamara Francois
