Why International Adoption?

"After all, aren't there hundreds, even thousands of children here in the United States just waiting for a loving family to take care of them?"

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard this, I would be a rich woman. In fact, some people are downright offended at the thought of us daring to take care of another country's child before adopting one of "our own." And don't get me started on the term "our own."

Wow.

I never dreamed that when deciding to blog on this topic my mind would be swirling so quickly that I honestly do NOT know where to start. But let's start here: This particular topic is really much bigger than just international adoption. Its so much more than that, when you get to the root of what people are actually saying when they make comments like the one I mentioned. I guess I'll just start with this little nugget to ponder...

Isn't a person, a person? What exactly determines WHO is worthy of love, compassion and care? Oh...its GEOGRAPHY! (See how silly that sounds?) And here is where I really get frustrated...there are a LOT of folks who are negative about international adoption who are Christians. Let me go here again....by definition a Christian is a "Christ follower." Newsflash: Jesus was not from the United States. I don't think He ever mentioned taking care of just "our own" when He implored us to care for orphans and widows. In fact, He even commanded us to love our enemies but I can't go there in this blog.

So yeah, I think we can rule out the thought that we are to only adopt from the United States when we look at things from a Christian perspective.

But what about the social and political twists and turns that seem to pop up?

Well, maybe we should check the facts. This IS the United States. We don't have children lying in orphanages unable to get antibiotics and suffering needlessly. We have a system where NO CHILD has to go hungry. We have foster care, welfare, food stamps, medicaid, free lunch and more. Like it or not, that is our country. I am not saying that no child DOES go hungry. But we all know that issues like that are much more complicated. Usually there are family problems that adoption will not solve. Truth is, we have waiting lists in this country to adopt a baby. There are more prospective parents than there are babies available. And before you bring the "there are plenty of older children available" logic, let me just give my two cents on that...

Not everyone is equipped to deal with some of the challenges that come with adopting an older child. Does that mean I am against older child adoption? NO WAY! I just believe in my heart that those who feel led to go that route, do.

So what to do if you are NOT in the position to handle the challenges of an older child? And, oh by the way....there are THOUSANDS of children in other countries in need of a home. I would imagine you might consider international adoption. This is only my thought process. I know for a fact that many other families that I know that have adopted internationally have very different means of coming to their decision. My point is this...

Families that adopt have many different reasons for going the route they go, whether domestic or international. For our family, in particular, it was the right decision. We had suffered the loss of TWO stillborn babies before deciding to adopt. Our little Indira was waiting for us in Kazakhstan. We needed her as much as she needed us...which brings me to this:

Most families I know that chose international adoption have felt the peace and direction of God throughout their decision making. It wasn't about skipping off to some other country to buy a baby. It was about feeling led to love a child that was out there somewhere. For us, Kazakhstan first, and then here in Indiana.

But to go back to the political thing....

I hate to do this. Really, I do.

But when are we going to realize that we as Americans are no more entitled to life than anyone else? Since when are we the chosen nation? Why should we take care of "our own" before taking care of ANYONE ELSE? I understand supporting your economy. Buy American! Sure....there has to be a level of support in order to thrive economically. But come on people! These are human lives! A child who happened to be planted in another country is no less worthy of love and care than one who happens to be planted in the US! As a HUMAN, we should celebrate any time a child finds a family, regardless of GEOGRAPHY!

I'm afraid that this level of superiority, elitism, if you will, separates us. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are not just American!

So now, I will step down from my soap box. It doesn't happen often...this frustrated, almost angry type of post! But every once in a while, I have to just get it off my chest. Purge my feelings and hope that while my intent is not to just change everyone's mind to match mine...I can at least give another perspective. You may disagree with me, still. But maybe you can at least TOLERATE another viewpoint after reading my thoughts!

Until next time....here's to celebrating not just diversity, but actually the things that are the same between us!