National Adoption Month and Election Day

There's no question that we live in the greatest country in the world. We have privileges, rights and laws that provide us many freedoms. For some of us, those rights and freedoms took longer to get to than others. On election day, we are often reminded that blacks and women were not always allowed to have a voice. Fast forward to today and now we have a black President in office and had the opportunity (if you so chose to) vote for a female candidate.

While reading all the Facebook posts about our right to vote and duty to do so, I got to thinking about how lucky we are to have such rights and how unfortunate it is that other countries do not. Don't worry, this is not a blog about politics at all. I'm only saying that in America we have come really far and I feel blessed to have the rights and freedoms that we have.

While thinking about all of this,  my mind of course went to Cheyenne. She is currently waking up in an orphanage in a country where girls are literally thrown away. When Cheyenne comes home with us, she will become a U.S. citizen and will thus be afforded the same rights and privileges that we so often take for granted.

Not only is November election month but it is also National Adoption Awareness month. So I want to take a few minutes to discuss this important topic.

In the Bible, John 14: 18-20 Jesus said, "No, I will not abandon you as orphans - I will come to you."

After close to a year of careful consideration, Kevin and I finally followed this same calling to go to the orphans. We get asked a lot "Why China? Why not here in the U.S?" For me, the only thing I can think of is that I would bet the worst orphanage in American beats the best orphanage in China every day. Also, as the children in American orphanages grow up, while they will still have a difficult road, they will be afforded the rights and privileges we as Americans receive. However, in China, the children who age out of orphanages (at age 14) are not so lucky.

As I tell people about our impending adoption, I often hear people say, "Man I wish we could do that, but we could never afford it." Kevin and I are both hard-working individuals who are smart about our finances, but we are certainly not wealthy by any means. We started out by researching our options. For example, we learned that the government reimburses almost $14,000 worth of adoption expenses. Additionally, our employers will reimburse us over $10,000 combined. Yes, we still have to front the money up front, but that's what savings, grants, and loans are for. Many people have no problem justifying a bank loan of $30,000 for a car they may only drive for ten years or so. But the idea of getting a loan to finance an adoption to bring a child into a FOREVER family is out of reach.

If you have been considering the idea of adoption, I encourage you to research some of these things for yourself. Prayerfully weigh all possibilities. While doing so, consider one of my all time favorite quotes by Forrest E. Witcraft: "One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove.......but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child"

As a final note, please check out this article which debunks common adoption myths: http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/adoption-resources/