My freshman year in college I met a girl named Trisha. She had been adopted into a family. Over the course of time, I got to know her story and the idea began to form that I would someday like to adopt children. After some time, the idea was less an idea and more of a necessity.
A year or two later, my former youth pastor asked me to work with the youth at church. My school semesters were three months long. So, I would go to Michigan and study for 3 months. Then I would come to Colorado, work, and volunteer with the youth for 3 months.
As I got to know the many wonderful, crazy teenagers with whom I was privileged to work, I began to realize that the children I really wanted to adopt were in this age group. Middle schoolers are absolutely amazing and completely fun to hang around. High schoolers are logical and not afraid to tell you what they think. I really can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want this age group! (I mean this quite seriously. No irony or sarcasm in that statement.) Of course, they can be a tough crowd at times, but so can adults.
Four years ago I met my friend Amanda who works in the adoption field. Over the last 4 years, she has been gracious to explain adoption stuff (that’s the most technical descriptive word that came to mind) and answer a lot of questions. She’s also expended energy gathering information and encouraging me to research and consider options.
About a year and a half ago, while I was still attending grad school, I began to feel that God was telling me to get my house ready for my children. I said, “But I am not married.” And He said, “Don’t worry about that. Just start getting ready.” Of course the conversation was drawn out over time but that’s pretty much the gist of it.
So, I finished out that semester and, this being one among other reasons, decided not to go back. I spent the next 14 months trying to find a job. God blessed me with one that is just right. Now that things are stabilized in the job department, I’ve been bombarding Amanda with more detailed questions. I’ve surfed the Project127.com website to learn more about their programs. After evaluating the information from Amanda and the information from Project 127, I’ve decided that 2008 is a good year to take the required classes to be an adoptive parent. My current plan is to take classes in 2008 and look for child placement (in my home) in 2009. This part is all very tentative.
No comments:
Post a Comment