It took 22 months from the time of our first inquiry, to the point when we finally became full-time parents. We waited for 12 months in a queue, had a stranger ask all sorts of very personal questions about our lives (after which she was no longer a stranger), went to training days, and stressed over the major things we had to ‘fix’ in our house to make it child-proof (something nobody who is expecting a child has to do before they bring home their child from the hospital!). What I dreaded most of all during this time, however, was the idea of viewing children’s profiles, because I knew I’d be the one making the decision to accept one child and reject another. I prayed that God would make it clear who He intended our child to be. He answered our prayers in an unexpected way – not with just one child, but a sibling group!

At the adoption panel, we were essentially asked: “Do you know what you’re getting yourselves into by taking two?” To be perfectly honest, no. I’ve never had two children before. I’ve never had one child before. I see other families, but I can’t imagine what their life is like 24/7. Now looking back, how could I have answered it any differently? Watching your child pull himself into the standing position for the first time, hearing the screams as the other one bangs his head against a table and dealing with the repercussions of it, or listening to him praying with you in his own manner. The joy fills my heart. The pain brings tears to my eyes. And yet, it’s only been a month.

I’m so thankful for adoption – both that I could have these two boys as my sons, but also that I could be adopted as a daughter of God, because adopting us as His children was His plan from the very beginning. In a world where adoption is so often an alternative to a biological conception, or possibly even IVF, adoption was his ‘Plan A’ all along.

Likewise, my husband and I decided to make adoption our first choice, our ‘Plan A’. We know that there is such a need, both in this country and around the world, for orphans to be placed in loving families. And before it all started, I just knew I wanted to be a mummy, and now our boys have a mummy. The pieces just seem to fit together perfectly.

Ultimately, if you’re a Christian, you are necessarily pro-adoption, but what impact does this have in your daily life? Would you consider adoption as an option, or could you help support a couple that has decided to adopt?

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).

This Sunday 3 November is Adoption Sunday. To find out more about how you can get involved, click here

(Image via Creation Swap)

Written by Robin Belder

Robin is an American living in Hull. She loves travel, being frugal, playing games, and spending time with her family. She is actively involved in her local church, St John Newland. She married Jake in 2007 and became the mother of two boys in 2013.

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