Last Sunday was Orphan Sunday. Yesterday was World Adoption Day. I knew about Orphan Sunday, but I was not aware of World Adoption Day until I saw some friends posting about it on Facebook - a smiley face drawn on the inside of the hand.If you know me at all, you know that I am very involved with foster care, orphan care, & adoption. I LOVE being a foster mom. I love loving on kids for a while & getting to watch them transition back home to their biological families. I LOVE donating money & sharing the stories of kids who need families. I LOVE helping adoptive parents have the support they need to bring their little ones into their family. I LOVE talking adoption. It's probably my favorite ever.
So I love things that bring awareness to adoption. I thought it was neat to see my friends showing their support for adoption by sharing their smiley face hand. But what else? Awareness is the first step...then what? We can do more. We should do more.
From a Christian perspective, I believe we are required to care for orphans. James 1:27 is my life verse: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." God himself has a track record of caring for the fatherless -
Psalm 10:14
"But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless."
Psalm 82:3-4
"Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
But even from a non-Christian perspective...we are a very rich country. All of my Facebook friends could chose to share waiting children on their pages & give those children the exposure that can get them into their forever families. Most of my friends could afford to donate a few dollars a month to a family pursuing an adoption or to a child waiting to be adopted. Almost all of my friends could donate an item to an adopting family for them to sell to raise money for their adoption. Many of my friends could afford to care for an extra child for a short time - setting an extra dinner plate, helping 1 extra child with homework at night, kissing one more sweet face goodnight.
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
But even from a non-Christian perspective...we are a very rich country. All of my Facebook friends could chose to share waiting children on their pages & give those children the exposure that can get them into their forever families. Most of my friends could afford to donate a few dollars a month to a family pursuing an adoption or to a child waiting to be adopted. Almost all of my friends could donate an item to an adopting family for them to sell to raise money for their adoption. Many of my friends could afford to care for an extra child for a short time - setting an extra dinner plate, helping 1 extra child with homework at night, kissing one more sweet face goodnight.
Many people aren't happy with the direction our country & world are going. So much hate, so much anger. Then DO SOMETHING. Be love. Show who we are.
I blogged last week about the McQuinn family, bringing home 4 kids from Eastern Europe. I offered a $500 matching grant to that family. ZERO!!! of my friends took me up on that matching grant. ZERO! No one even donated $5. That breaks my heart. That blog post had almost 300 views. No one contacted me about giving a donation. That grant was met, but it was met by people who are strangers to me.
I blogged last week about the McQuinn family, bringing home 4 kids from Eastern Europe. I offered a $500 matching grant to that family. ZERO!!! of my friends took me up on that matching grant. ZERO! No one even donated $5. That breaks my heart. That blog post had almost 300 views. No one contacted me about giving a donation. That grant was met, but it was met by people who are strangers to me.
Want to really make a difference? Actually do something. Participate in the awareness activities...but then donate $5. Share a waiting child. Fill out paperwork to be a foster parent. Take dinner to an adoptive family. Offer to babysit (for free!) for a family with foster or adoptive kids.
DO SOMETHING!
The McQuinn family leaves tomorrow to get their kids. The still need $2444.24 to be fully funded for travel. Can you give $5 to help them reach their goal & allow them to travel without the worry of finances? Donate here: http://reecesrainbow.org/107851/sponsormcquinn
Pick an child from this list to donate to. We are trying to grow these grants so families do not have to come up with so much money in order to bring them home: Miracle of Adoption Christmas Campaign
I don't want to guilt you...well, kind of I do, I guess. So many kids are waiting, not knowing the true love of a family. I am hoping to blog again later this week on what I shared at church on Sunday. I hope it will touch your heart in the way it touched mine as I prepared for it. We can all do something. Let's get out & do it.
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