Opposites - What are we going to do?

Sometimes Often I really struggle with coming to terms with the 2 polar opposites in my head/in this world. On one hand, we have this amazing (albeit challenging at times) life here in the US.  Man are we lucky.  Four healthy kids, 2 cats, 2 dogs, fenced in yard, pools to swim in, lots of family time, etc... the list goes on and on of how blessed we are.  A big part of me wants my kids to have "the American dream" type of childhood.  Not necessarily a modern childhood, filled with video games and electronics, but the type of childhood that I had.  Especially in the summer. We're playing outside, riding bikes, hiking, swimming, celebrating the 4th of July, picking blueberries, catching fireflies, doing experiments, etc.  Such the norm where we live that we often don't give it a second thought.

And yet, it's never far from my mind the fact that most children do not get to have this type of childhood. Many of them are hungry, starving even.  Literally dying from not having clean water to drink. Growing up on the streets. Not knowing what it's like to have a warm, soft bed to be tucked into by a mom or dad at the end of a long, fun day.

It breaks me.

These kids are real people.  As real as my kids. As real as yours. And every bit just as important.

And so I struggle to see all that we have and come to terms with all that others do not have. I'm not okay with it.  It leaves me unsettled.  Wanting to do more but not knowing what.

All children are made for family.  God does not want any children to be alone.

We need an "epidemic of adoption" to arise. We need adoption to be common-place instead of just a few families who do it.  We need to move and be bold and open our homes and our hearts.

People tell me all the time that they wish they could adopt, but they can't afford it.  Let me be clear. We (my husband and I) cannot afford adoption. My husband is a mechanic and I stay home. Money is tight.  And yet, we've done it twice. We didn't do this alone; we did it along with our God, who is faithful and moves mountains. We did it with our friends and families.  We did it by making sacrifices.  And you can do it too.

People also tell me, "We're good with 2 kids."  Yeah, I get that. We were good with 2 kids, too. But you know what? We're so much better with 4 kids! It's a gift to give your children siblings, something you'll never regret.

I believe God has blessed us so fully so that we can then be His hands and feet to bless others. So I ask, what are we going to do?

Please take a moment to watch this video and read this article; they can say it better than I can.

http://adoption.com/creating-epidemic-adoption

http://www.gracedsimplicity.com/2014/07/adoption-we-really-cant-afford-it.html#.U76ckfldWVK

While adoption for us began as a response to God's call, man oh man have we been fully blessed in return.