Simple and True

I have been praying for over a week what God would have me share about our adoption of a sweet angel from China, who had been burned, neglected, and shunned because of her outward appearance ... In the first moments of meeting our sweet daughter I could see the woundedness all over her face and I immediately thought, "Lord, you have picked the wrong mother here. I am not nearly strong enough or prepared enough for this child." Quickly, my sweet Lord showed me I had all I needed to be the mother He needed me to be ... I will admit I am not one of those people who runs out and buys all the adoption parenting books or seeker of specialists when it comes to psychological issues, abandonment issues, or attachment behavior. Now please don't take this wrong way because there is nothing wrong with all of these avenues and I have sought counsel from many who have gone before me in these areas when we have needed advice and help, but what I am about to share completely changed me as a mother and has made our journey smoother, blessed, and changed our entire family ...

God showed me the most perfect parallel of adoption and His love for us on my journey to be the mother he wanted me to be to all my children ... If you will simply try to become Jesus to your child and put yourself in the child's place then your journey will have a much deeper meaning and could actually change everyone's life you touch ... When my daughter was rejecting us in so many ways, I simply remember all the times I had rejected God's free gift of love. I thought about how hurt she was and that before she could understand my love for her, she needed to know I would care for her, provide for her needs, and not turn away no matter what she did ... ISN'T THAT HOW WE TEST OUR LORD ... We show Him all of our ugliness and just know He will turn, but He never does ... We reject Him and yet He still offers love, and we wait for Him to care for our needs until we realize that all we need is Him ...

So the best advice I can give any new parent is to dig deep into the word and see how Jesus treated others, watch Him sacrifice, hear His heart for the least of these, see how He loves on the unlovable, watch Him love unconditionally, focus on how He meets the need of the person without needing a reason on how they got there, and absorb how deeply He understands us ... All adoptive children will have a sense of abandonment whether small or large ... Fill that spot with the LOVE of Christ ...

Blessings ....
Gwen Oatsvall
oatsvallteam.blogspot.com