Feel that you are not called to adopt? You can still care for the orphan by providing support to those called to adopt. There are many different ways to minister to God's orphan children and to adoptive families who have welcomed these children home.
Adoptive Families Need Your Help
Due to the challenges of adopting a child, many adoptive families desperately need support from their church families. Asking for help however, can be difficult to do. Many adoptive families may interpret their struggles as failure, question their calling to adopt or, worst of all, feel abandoned by the God who called them to the journey of adoption. Struggling adoptive families need their church families to wrap around and support them during times of trial. When churches do this, they mirror our heavenly Father, who wraps His arms around us during times of joy as well as times of trial. Families struggling in these situations need compassionate, non-judgmental brothers and sisters in Christ to walk beside them to help bear their burdens. Adoptive families need others to WRAP around them with prayer and practical help.
W. Wrestle in Prayer
For previously wounded orphan children, the Enemy stole their childhoods, killed their dreams and destroyed their futures. But that's not the end of their stories. Christ has come that these children may have life and have it to the full. God wants to restore and redeem their beginnings. He has a plan and a future for these children. So when a Christian family welcomes a little child in Jesus' name; provides a loving home; and introduces her to the One who made, loves, heals and delivers her, the Enemy does not stand idly by. The spiritual warfare involved in rescuing orphans is very real and often overlooked. Adoptive families need you to wrestle in prayer on their behalf.
Pray for: Strength and Patience, Grace and Mercy. God's truth to be revealed to the families amid the schemes and lies of the Enemy. Spiritual eyes to see the truth behind their struggle and strength to exercise their faith and trust in their mighty God. Ears attuned to the living God, who will walk them through their trials.
Also Pray Specifically For The Child: That God would heal wounds of rejection, abandonment, fear and mistrust. That God's love, which never fails, will cover him in all he does. To know and believe that there is hope in Christ. To trust in and receive her new family's love and desire to help her heal.
R. Respite Care
No matter how wonderful, committed and loving adoptive parents are, they need a break from the demands of caring for their children. Respite care is defined as "short-term or temporary care...to provide relief to the regular caregiver". Times of respite allow parents to focus on their marriage, take time to regroup, and enjoy much-needed peace, quiet, and rest.
There are several unique aspects to respite care: Respite should not begin until the child has been in the home for several months. You must get to know the children beforehand. The respite must be long enough to be worth the trouble of preparing for it. Respite time shouldn't be a "vacation" for the child where they are free from the rules of daily life. If possible, provide respite in the child's home in order to maintain as much of the structure and schedule as possible.
A. Acts of Service
This is a list of ways you can provide an act of service for an adoptive family:
Meals: Provide a meal or two for a family who just brought their new child home.
Errands and Shopping: Pick up a few things for the adoptive family at the store or run an errand for them.
Laundry: Pick up the family's laundry, take it home, and return it folded.
Yard Work: Have a yard cleanup party for the adoptive family.
Cleaning: Arrange to clean a family's house for them while they are away.
Financial Assistance: Provide a monetary gift to help offset adoption expenses.
Gifts for Homecoming Celebration: Adoptive families don't often have a "baby shower" so a gift to the adoptive family is a great way to provide an act of service.
P. Promises of God
Providing encouragement with God's Word through notes, calls or emails can be a powerful source of comfort and strength for families. Hope-filled words combined with listening ears, understanding hearts, kindness and mercy will deeply resonate.
That's a W.R.A.P.
While not every family is called to open their home to a child in need, everyone can be involved in caring for orphans. Take time to explore how the Lord may be asking you to serve the adoptive families in our community and church. Often it's the smallest gestures that mean the most.
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