CHILD OF MY HEART

Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone,

But still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute,

You didn't grow under my heart - but in it.

Fleur Conkling Heylinger

My cousin Wendy and her husband, Rick, adopted their second child from Russia this week. I am sooooo thrilled for them! The pictures she sent back are just adorable! He is darling, and in appearance, at least, he will fit in perfectly with their family. Both little Ivan and his big brother Dima are towheads, and remind me of Wendy when she was a little blonde-haired girl. I have no doubt that he will fit in perfectly in every other way, as well. God has put this family together and I know they will grow in love and faith together. What a wonderful blessing for Wendy and Rick to have two precious little boys now as their sons—and of, course, what a miracle for these children to be lifted from life in a Russian orphanage and placed into a loving, safe home where they will have a mommy and daddy to love them and care for them, provide for them and protect them! I know they will grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and, most precious gift of all—they will hear about Jesus and have the opportunity to accept Him as their Savior.

Julie and David are still on their adoption journey, and although it’s already been a long road, it is far from over. They did not know when they applied to adopt from El Salvador that things were grinding to a halt in the international adoption agencies there. After being at a complete standstill for over a year and a half, things are finally moving again and a few couples are being approved. It could still be another one to two years yet before David and Julie get the children for whom they have been praying. The Lord knows when that time will come, and who the little ones are that He will place into their family, and in the meantime they—and we—will wait patiently on Him and continue to pray for them. I don’t think I have ever known a couple who are better suited to adopting than Julie and David. They are so loving and compassionate and giving, and they have done a beautiful job so far of raising the three they already have. They have a heart for children and are hoping when David retires from the Air Force in a few years that the Lord will lead them into missions in some kind of orphan ministry.

I get excited when I hear about someone who wants to adopt! I know from my own experience the true, wonderful blessing it can be. I have thanked God every single day for giving us the beautiful gift of Robbie in our lives. I know to some people it may appear to be more of a burden than a blessing, but I can say from the bottom of my heart that I have never, ever regretted for a single moment adopting Robbie. He has enriched our lives every day with love, laughter, joy and fun! Having him has taught us things like patience, acceptance, faith and unconditional love. The Lord used Robbie to mold us into servants for Him, and to help his sisters to grow into beautifully nurturing, compassionate and responsible women. Of course there have been tears and frustrations, fears and emotional trauma as we faced almost losing him several times, but those have been growing times, as well, and precious times of drawing closer to the Lord.

From the moment Robbie became our child we loved and accepted him in exactly the same way we loved and accepted our daughters. There has never been a difference in our minds or hearts in the way we felt about him. I know Wendy and Rick have loved Dima just as deeply as if he were his son by birth, and they will love little Ivan that way, as well. When the time comes, Julie and David will love their new little ones just as fully and unconditionally as they love Benjamin, Joshua and Hannah. The little poem above says it best. Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone, but a child of my heart. Another poem called The Gift of Life says,

I didn't give you the gift of life,

But in my heart I know.

The love I feel is deep and real,

As if it had been so.

For us to have each other

Is like a dream come true!

No, I didn't give you the gift of life,

Life gave me the gift of you.

Unknown

I would change one word in that—GOD gave me the gift of you. Nevertheless, the thought is the same—the love we feel for our adopted children is as deep and real as if we had given birth to them ourselves.

Did you know that we are adopted by God as his children and joint heirs with Christ? Galatians 4:4-7 says, But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Not only has He loved us with an unconditional love, so deeply that He was willing to pay the ultimate price of His Son, but He has given us the standing with all the rights and privileges of Jesus Himself as a joint heir with Him!

In Bible times a child by birth did not have any more rights than one of his father’s servants. He became an heir of his father, however, when he became an adult and was legally “adopted” as his son. When the Lord adopts us as His children we are not just stepchildren, or foster kids or “second class” children, but we have the same full love, acceptance, position and inheritance as His beloved Son, Jesus Christ! Amazing!

It is not easy to adopt, these days, either domestically or internationally. It can take a long, long time. I am shocked at how quickly Wendy and Rick’s adoptions went through. That is not the norm for most countries. It is also horribly expensive. By the time it is all said and done, Julie and David will have probably spent at least $40,000 and I wouldn’t be surprised if Rick and Wendy have spent even more for their two adoptions. The cost of adoption is high in so many other ways, as well. It takes a very strong desire, an extreme amount of commitment, hard work and perseverance, a willingness to endure the emotional roller coaster, courage, deep faith and most of all, unending love to adopt. It was a whole lot easier when we adopted Robbie thirty-three years ago! The costs are worth it, though—a thousand times over. To have a child of the heart—priceless!

To be adopted as a child of God—eternally priceless!