Adoption Devotional #2

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1
As adoptive parents walking a journey of healing with our children, we have an opportunity to enter into their world with empathy and compassion in a way that points them to the hope of the Savior. God has given us the divine honor of being mom or dad. We have the privilege of nurturing our children’s hopes and dreams, giving them goodnight kisses, wiping away their tears, teaching them as they grow and mature, and being the ones they look to for acceptance, security, and love. Parenting is holy ground, and we are allowed a front row seat as we watch their stories unfold and God does His work in and through them.
But as amazing and wonderful as being a parent can be, it can also be exhausting and at times terrifying. Our children have been touched by loss and grief, neglect and abuse, abandonment and rejection. Many of them have physical limitations both in body and mind that make typical daily tasks difficult and engaging in relationship overwhelming. And far too many of our children live under the fog of palpable fear and pervasive anxiety. Even so, they are our children, the dear ones the Lord of the universe, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, has placed in our care.
The daily demands of parenting coupled with the temptation to believe the lie that we have to be perfect in all that we say and do often leaves us defeated, weary, and running on empty. In these moments, we must remember that THE God that knit our families together is the same God who is our OUR strength and refuge. He will, as scripture promised, give us strength by His grace. “You then, my child be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). We can stand confident that as His children, covered by the grace and forgiveness of Christ, He will give us the strength we need. We are treasured by Him, we are loved by Him, and we are valued by Him. If we abide and rest in Him, He “will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10).
Lord, I thank you for the promise that you will be my strength every morning. May I sense your presence as you strengthen me through the power of your Spirit (Ephesians 3:16). Amen.

~Written by Tona Ottinger for Empowered to Connect

Manipulation and Control

Check out this great video from Karen Purvis about foster and adoptive children and their instinct to manipulate and control situations.  Click this link to check it out. Manipulation and Control

Adoption Devotional #1

Everyone loves a story with a happy ending. It’s the stuff that best-selling books and box office hits are made of. Happy endings lift our spirits and inspire us to dream. They get us started, keep us going, and give us reason to believe.
When families adopt they too dream of living out a story with a happy ending. And well they should. After all, adoption is full of joys and blessings, and for many these experiences are the hallmarks of the journey itself.
But there’s just one problem when it comes to our enchantment with happy endings – they don’t always happen. Not in life and certainly not in adoption. Happy endings are far from guaranteed, no matter how much we pray or believe. Even if God has called you to the adoption journey, none of us are promised a fairy tale ending. And far from being a letdown or a depressing thought, this reality can, if we allow it, re-focus our hearts and minds on how God desires the story that He is writing with our lives to unfold.
As we turn the pages of our story with each new day, we discover that the story is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, unexpected lows and unimaginable highs. We quickly come to realize that it is not so much what happens to us that creates the meaning in our story, but what God is doing in and through us. And what He, not us, accomplishes ultimately determines how our story “ends.”
No matter where we are along the adoption journey we must remember that God’s call, God’s provision, and God’s blessing is not defined by or even reflected in our circumstances. Instead, He has called us to be faithful…and to live in the hope that is able to do so much more than we could ever ask or imagine, according to His power at work in us…until one day we stand face to face and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Surely that will be the “happiest ending” of all.
Lord, help me remember Your unending faithfulness and guide me by Your Spirit to respond faithfully in each and every moment as I travel this journey You have called me to. Amen.

Written by: Michael Monroe, Empowered to Connect