"" Life A Bit Sweeter: I Dare You

Monday, July 26, 2010

I Dare You

I dare you to watch this and not be moved....



Honestly, what stands in the way of you saying YES?  Really, I want to know not because I want to get on my soapbox and criticize you.  I'm not interested in that.  I want to know so that I continue to be the voice for orphans.  If I know the reasons, as I become an advocate for better resources and information, it helps me to possibly move someone to change their NO to a maybe or their Maybe to a YES. 

  • Is it the lack of financing the adoption?
  • Is it that you'd like to get better financially stable?
  • Is it your age?
  • Is it because you're single?
  • Is it you're afraid of what your family and friends will think?
  • Is it you're afraid of the unknown of what the child will be like?
  • Are there other reasons?

And because I believe ultimately, every single person may truly be in a position not to adopt, I want to take this further.  What do you think stands in the way of you becoming an advocate for better family support so that children won't have to be relinquished?  Or, what stands in your way of supporting credible agencies who support and care for orphans in your country or abroad?  Or, what stands in your way of supporting families who can potentially say yes.....did you know $1, $5, $20, $100 and on and on makes a big difference in becoming a partner with a family?

Please tell me.  I want to know.  Even if you'd like to reply anonymously, I want to know BUT please keep it clean and friendly here.  (Please don't use all caps --aka screaming-- or attack anyone verbally here or it will be deleted.)  Please share this blog post via twitter, facebook, e-mail, or heck even Paul Revere (smile).  I'd just like to find out from anyone that will answer, what keeps you from adopting so that I can keep advocating.

Thanks so much!

8 comments:

Kelly said...

What a great post! I love the challenge..I agree with you, I believe there are many more families that can or are even "called" to adopt and for many reasons miss it!! We are in the process of our 2nd adoption and have heard many times that people are hesitant b/c of the financial aspect and loving their adopted child as 'their own". I have a problem with both...we have seen the Lord work out all things! I am always encouraging couples to honestly pray and ask the Lord about adoption, listen and step out in faith! Thank you for being an advocate for the fatherless. I will certainly be checking back to read other comments, and also follow your journey to your daughter!

Meliski said...

Wow
I can't believe I keep crying at this stuff, you think I'd be used to it by now. But I don't think you should be able to desensitize yourself to the pain of a child without a family.

Thanks for the reminder.

Michelle said...

Thanks for stopping by today's post Kelly! You've raised two very important myths that unfortunately may keep prospective families from adopting. We'll talk about those really soon in upcoming blog posts.

@Melissa: You are absolutely dead on....we definitely can desensitize ourselves from that reality.

The B Family said...

Oh, that video just breaks me. We are so glad we said yes and we hope to say yes several more times!

Michelle said...

Mrs. B: It really is a great video that speaks to the core of the heart. It's a bit viral in the adoption community and when I saw it, I knew I had to share it. So wonderful that you have a desire to adopt again.

Anonymous said...

Below is what I wrote to my husband today. He fears the cost & the fact that he will be 45 by the time an adoption would be finalized. I am so broken over this because he is not ready & I am. So I wait & I pray...

LONGING FOR THE DAUGHTER OF MY HEART
by Sandi "Spark"

I feel as if God is preparing my heart for our daughter.
My heart is filling with love for a child who I have yet to see
in a way that is nearly impossible to explain.
Those around me don’t understand the longing and the ache that is in my heart.
This longing will not go away until I can hold my daughter.
I long for her. I lose sleep thinking about the journey she will face
before God allows me to come for her.
So I wait and I pray for this child of ours,
this child who we will not be able to hold in our arms for years to come.

She has not yet been born but I know that God, in his infinite wisdom,
will bring her into this world at exactly the right moment.
She will be formed in a delicate womb across the seas.
She will have beautiful almond shaped eyes
and a smile that will light from within.
My eyes search crowds and find a moment’s respite when they rest upon a child with my daughter’s eyes.
The tears well up only for a moment
as my heart feels the pain of not having her with me.
For my time has not yet come.

I prayed for the Lord to break my heart for what breaks His.
My heart is broken for the orphans...all of them.
My heart breaks for my daughter.
She will be left in the care of strangers with the mere hope that one day she will have a better life.
She will.

In my heart I see rooms lined with cribs filled with sons and daughters
waiting, waiting...
They have no value in a land of breathtaking beauty.
My daughter will be there in one of those cribs waiting, waiting...
but not for long...

I want to be there for my daughter.
I want her to know that even though her birth mother had to make a heartbreaking choice
that God has formed her to be ours.
I want the arms that hold her until we can meet to hold her with love.
I want those around her to be filled with compassion and caring.
I will pray for them to receive many blessings
in return for loving and caring for her until we meet.

Though we will have different features, in our hearts we are the same.
In my soul I am connected to this little angel
as closely as I am connected to the sons who came from me.
In God’s perfect timing she will be ours. She will be treasured. She will be loved.
Until then I go on longing for the daughter of my heart...

Sandi said...

Below is what I wrote to my husband who fears the cost.
LONGING FOR THE DAUGHTER OF MY HEART
by Sandi "Spark"

I feel as if God is preparing my heart for our daughter.
My heart is filling with love for a child who I have yet to see
in a way that is nearly impossible to explain.
Those around me don’t understand the longing and the ache that is in my heart.
This longing will not go away until I can hold my daughter.
I long for her. I lose sleep thinking about the journey she will face
before God allows me to come for her.
So I wait and I pray for this child of ours,
this child who we will not be able to hold in our arms for years to come.

She has not yet been born but I know that God, in his infinite wisdom,
will bring her into this world at exactly the right moment.
She will be formed in a delicate womb across the seas.
She will have beautiful almond shaped eyes
and a smile that will light from within.
My eyes search crowds and find a moment’s respite when they rest upon a child with my daughter’s eyes.
The tears well up only for a moment
as my heart feels the pain of not having her with me.
For my time has not yet come.

I prayed for the Lord to break my heart for what breaks His.
My heart is broken for the orphans...all of them.
My heart breaks for my daughter.
She will be left in the care of strangers with the mere hope that one day she will have a better life.
She will.

In my heart I see rooms lined with cribs filled with sons and daughters
waiting, waiting...
They have no value in a land of breathtaking beauty.
My daughter will be there in one of those cribs waiting, waiting...
but not for long...

I want to be there for my daughter.
I want her to know that even though her birth mother had to make a heartbreaking choice
that God has formed her to be ours.
I want the arms that hold her until we can meet to hold her with love.
I want those around her to be filled with compassion and caring.
I will pray for them to receive many blessings
in return for loving and caring for her until we meet.

Though we will have different features, in our hearts we are the same.
In my soul I am connected to this little angel
as closely as I am connected to the sons who came from me.
In God’s perfect timing she will be ours. She will be treasured. She will be loved.
Until then I go on longing for the daughter of my heart...

Michelle said...

Sandi: wow! Praying that God gives you the desire of your heart for what has clearly settled there.

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