Adoption

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5

I debated on whether or not I should even blog about this, but it's weighing heavy on my heart tonight and hey, it's my blog! :) As I've said before on this blog, Rob and I have been trying for over a year to get pregnant with no luck. We have ALWAYS thrown around the idea of adoption and feel as if we are being led down this path. God continues to put things in front of us that we feel are leading us towards adoption. There are SO many children who need a loving home and we feel that we could give this to a child. At this point we are researching potential agencies and deciding what path we want to take. There are many factors that weigh into this decision (which agency, location, how long it will take, how much it will cost, etc).

We have really only shared this with the people closest to us (i.e. family and friends). The first question out of a lot of mouths is "Can you not have kids?" Well, we don't know. We have not been "diagnosed" with any problems. I really find it sad that people have it in their heads that you can ONLY adopt if you CANNOT have children of your own. Why is it so strange that people would WANT to adopt children? I absolutely HATE that there is this sort of stigma with adopting, as if that were only for people who can't have children. In fact, a few agencies that we have researched make it a requirement that a couple be infertile before they will adopt a child to them. To me, that's absolutely crazy! Why would we put a requirement like that on saving the life of a child who is already born and needs a chance at a good life?

The reactions that we have received from our family and friends have been from one extreme to the other. For the most part, everyone has been very open and excited about it (which in turn makes us excited). We have had a couple of negative comments and we deal with those as they come. I am definitely growing a thicker skin these days and learning that other people's opinions really don't matter. I can listen to opinions and take them in, but in the end, this is ultimately a decision for Rob and me.

We look forward to this chapter of our lives and if you have any prayers to spare, we would definitely appreciate you sending them our way!

We are open to any advice, suggestions, donations, or comments that you have to share. If anyone knows or has experience with a certain agency, we are definitely listening to you! If you want to tell us that we shouldn't adopt or we are making a mistake, please keep those comments to yourself! :)