Adoption Thoughts from David Platt

 Marc and I greatly admire a pastor named David Platt.  Almost a year ago now he adopted his second child from China and of course I followed along on his blog as he documented some of their journey.  Today was a hard day for me.  Tonight as I wrestle with what in the world the Lord is doing through all of this, I am remembering this portion of David's blog.  It is the only thing that makes sense to me right now.  And I am encouraged and again humbled.  God will sustain us.


Here is the blog address from which I copied and pasted the entire rest of this post.
http://bhglobalblog.org/2011/11/27/the-gospel-and-adoption/

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:3-10).

Understanding this biblical foundation of spiritual adoption is critical for understanding the proper motivation for physical adoption. We have a tendency in our day to romanticize adoption, envisaging cute children around the world (both domestically and internationally) just waiting to be adopted. Obviously, they are all cute in their own ways, but they are also needy…and many of their needs are great.
As a pastor of a church that is, by God’s grace, captivated by an adoptive culture, I have talked and prayed with countless parents who have fostered and/or adopted children with challenging needs. And the only sustainable motivation for these parents is the glorious reality of the gospel. What do you do when the child you adopted has fetal alcohol syndrome and can’t ever seem to sit still without throwing a tantrum? What happens when that child’s birth mother was addicted to crack cocaine and as a result, he or she has permanent brain damage that affects their behavior for the rest of their life, and in turn their teenage years turn into a living nightmare for you, for them, and for your entire family? What happens when the years that child has spent in an institutional orphanage by themselves causes them to not know how to even begin to receive love, so that every time you try to show love, they resist it? What happens when the child you adopt is dangerous?
Mere altruism will not sustain you in situations like these. Only the gospel will. Because in the gospel, you are reminded on a daily basis that there was a day when you were a child of wrath, filled with evil desires, totally unable to control your sinfulness, and desperately in need of Savior, and God reached down His hand of mercy past the depth of your wickedness in order to adopt you as His own. When there was no initiative to draw you to Him, He initiated a relationship with you. So now, when you see a child with minor or major needs, you reach out to that child, simply because you realize you are that child. I can’t improve here upon the words of my friend, Russell Moore, who wrote a wonderful book called Adopted for Life. He wrote:

Imagine for a moment that you’re adopting a child. As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you’re told that this 12-year-old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three. He persists in burning things, and attempting repeatedly to skin animals alive. He “acts out sexually,” the social worker says, although she doesn’t really fill you in on what that means. She continues with a little family history. This boy’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder. Each of them ended their own lives. Think for a minute. Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn’t you watch nervously as he played with your other children? Would you watch him nervously as he looks at the knife on the kitchen table? Would you leave the room as he watched a movie on TV with your daughter, with the lights out?

And then Dr. Moore writes:

Well he’s you. And he’s me. That’s what the Gospel is telling us.

My goal is certainly not to paint a grim picture of adoption, and many children in foster and/or adoption situations are perfectly healthy. But adoption is not easy, and children are indeed needy. It’s important to realize, then, that we adopt not because we are rescuers. No, we adopt because we are the rescued. And in this way, the gospel uniquely portrays, compels, and ultimately sustains adoption.

The Dog is not exempt.

Levi LOVES playing outside.

I took the camera out yesterday because I thought it looked like him and The Dog were so cute together.

Once I got out there I realized they were actually battling (in their own very sweet natured ways) over a piece of plastic.

Oh man, even the poor dog is experiencing some "challenges" with the new little man in the house.

Either you trust Him or you don't.

In Beijing, a few days before getting Levi, God put deep into my heart Colossians 3:2:

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

And that has since become my life verse.  I have clung to it hundreds of time every day.

A few days after we got Levi, as I was crying myself to sleep in China,

Marc said to me,

"Either you trust God or you don't."

And that was the turning point.

And just like that, armed with God's word and led by my husband,  a new amazing unknown chapter was beginning.....

 God clearly led us to Levi.  

Of that we had no doubt until we met Levi and I started focusing on the earthly things....the things I could see and the fears I could feel.

 He wasn't what we had expected.  We expected a little munchkin with 2 minor medical conditions.

And what we got was a little kid that had much more going on.  Many more challenges than we had been made aware of.  And in China we had a choice to make.  Would we choose to adopt a little boy with many  many mysterious delays and mental things going on or would we jump ship.

And then my AMAZING husband whispered into my ear, 

"Either you trust God or you don't."

I knew he was right.  We had to trust.

And so we chose to follow Him to the boy He had picked out for us. 

 Not the boy that we had picked.  But the boy that God had clearly chose for us.

The transition home with Levi has been incredible.

 Incredibly rough.

 And incredibly awesome.

 

 Since being home, the state of my being has totally depended upon what my mind has been set upon.

 There have been moments that I have wanted to fly off the handle when people make the most stupid comments.  And just a few moments when the fears of the future and the "what ifs" try to set in. 

But for the most part, Praise JESUS, He has kept my mind locked in on Him.

And because of HIM, I have had more joy than ever before.

 

 The Lord has brought us to a whole new level of hard.

(which I am well aware is nothing compared to what so many people go through.)

And He has met us there, growing us deeper in our walk with Him, every step of the way.

 He has placed people in our paths to speak truth into our hearts just when we have needed it.

He has spoken to us through His Word as a lifeline for us every day.

 

 Either we trust Him or we don't.

1Thes. 5:10 "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him."

And THAT is what it is all about....just living together with HIM everyday.  One day at a time.  No fear or worry of the future...He's got that all taken care of.....just one day at a time dwelling in His presence.

I'll be honest, I guess I've never been in a place before where I felt repeatedly that one day is all I could handle.  I am in that place now.  And it's a hard but fantastic place to be.  The joy and blessings from needing and depending on the Lord so much are truly indescribable.

 As for Mr. Levi....  We have begun seeing some specialists for his medical conditions.

 In a couple weeks we will meet with some therapists to begin "early intervention"....whatever that is.

I don't know even a single minute thing about mental delays.....but I am eager to be a sponge and learn whatever I can to help my baby boy become all that God has planned for him!

 

 Every single day that little rascal has revealed something new that he knows.

 And we celebrate every small victory around here!

His delays could very well just be due to a history of neglect and abuse.  Not to mention the tremendous trauma that he has been through.  I know it will be years till we know what we are dealing with.

And really it doesn't matter the cause....we will just move forward....one day at a time, with our minds FIXED on Jesus! .... And loving the heck outta that little guy. 

  

The question I get asked the most about him is if he is talking at all.  The answer is no.  No Chinese and no English.  However, a small victory is that his babbling has slightly increased.  Let me tell you, there will be a celebration in this house with his first word someday!  

Exodus 4:11 "Who gave man his mouth?  Who makes him deaf or mute?  Who gives him sight or makes him blind?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go;  I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

Ah, yes, and then there are the rest of the kiddos.  ;)

They are all doing remarkable considering the stress that has been at our house the last couple weeks.  (the worst of it all has been this ridiculous eye problem that we brought home with us.  Praise Jesus, we are just now totally healed.  wow, it was BAD.  And the jet lag was brutal for Marcus and I who unfortunately need massive amounts of sleep.)

 And we are back at school.

And SOMEHOW it is getting done. 

 And slowly....but surely.....

 we are finding our new normal.....

 And what has been on my heart the last couple days is how I am soooooooo humbled how I would have not picked out this guy if I had known all of his issues and yet how much I am beginning to love him.  Once again God is humbling me BIG TIME.  Agh!  HE chose Levi and HE is grafting Levi into our hearts and into our family....one day at a time.  It's really all about him and His plan!  He is the author.  God's ways are truly so much more amazing and awesome than anything we could plan or imagine! 

 

 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

Colossians 3:2

And we are home.

Wowzeez.

What a 36 hours it was leaving China.

It started out with a trip to a Chinese doctor because of a really bad eye infection that all of us had acquired from Levi.

Then, we were off to visit Levi's orphanage.

The highlight of this visit was watching Jorie love on some precious babies.

It was working at an orphanage 17 years ago that God broke my heart for His children who are orphaned in the world and so going back to an orphanage this time, I had so hoped Jorie's heart would connect....and it did.

 

As for the rest of the visit, I am still processing it and not sure yet how much to write on here.....more later.  maybe.  it's very difficult.

 Then we had another amazing visit with some people who cared for Levi amongst his time in the orphanage.  Unfortunately, Levi had to leave his foster home and go back to his orphanage for a whole month before we got there to get him.  I do believe that this was not good for him.  argh.

Then we went back to our hotel to pack up.  No small job.

And then said goodbye to the other 9 families from Holt that were there to share this adoption journey with us.  So thankful for the three of them that live close and we are sure to see again soon!

We received Levi's visa.

Took a train to Hong Kong.....

..... where we spent the night and then flew out the next morning....

 The flight home was long but okay.

 And alas, we were home.

Thanks to our sweet family and friends who greeted us at the airport.

How sweet each of you are to us!  Thank you so much for being there!

How amazing it was to find our kitchen FULL of food and snacks and supplies that our friends had gathered to welcome us home.  Amazing.  I can't even tell you how much this means to us.  It has been SUCH a gift to us since we have been home.  Thanks to each of YOU who blessed us in this way!!!!!!!

And, I just HAVE to share this gift:  Some of our BEST friends cleaned out and organized our garage while we were gone.  Can you believe it?  I think that, next to taking care of our children for us, is one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given us!  WOW!  Thanks Andersens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the few days since we have been home, Levi has been doing great.  Best part is that he has been sleeping 13+ hours straight every night.  He has been really happy.  Seeming to enjoy everything about "home".

As for the rest of us, well....uh.....we've kinda hit the wall.

The infamous "eye infection" that we have all acquired has gone from bad to worse.

And as for sleep, well, lets just say that it is 3am right now and Jorie and Luke and I are all gathered around the computer working on this blog together, while I listen to Marcus toss and turn in bed.  

The good news is that God is sooo good.  :)

And He will somehow get us all through this transition.

And in the meantime He is keeping us fed through some generous friends at church who are bringing us meals and the food (pictured above) brought by our friends has been more than a blessing.

And so, the next chapter begins.

Thanks Beck, for encouraging me with God's word.

"This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead...

 On Him we have set our hope" 

2 Corinthians 1:9-10.