Changes

I have been feeling a need for a change. Couldn’t put it into thoughts for a while, then ran across an article yesterday about adoption.

I know something about adoption – I married an adoptee, and I became one:

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (Romans 8:15-16 KJV)

Most people, especially those untouched by adoption, do not understand that it is a life-long process. Adoptees remain adoptees for the remainder of their lives. That is the blessing Paul writes of when he says we receive the Spirit of adoption, that we no longer cry to God, we cry to our Father as His children. That relationship can neither be described nor understood, but it is experienced.

The earthly adoption, though, fluctuates. More so today in our country with the ease of divorce and lessening of marriage commitments. We need to take adoption seriously. The American Adoption Congress has a page about certain adoption myths. First myth is:

Only a small number of adopted persons want to know their birth information.
In a study of American adolescents, the Search Institute found that 72 percent of adopted adolescents wanted to know why they were adopted, 65 percent wanted to meet their birth parents, and 94 percent wanted to know which birth parent they looked like.

The second myth is:

Most birthmothers want to forget the past and not have "old wounds reopened."

Seeing my mother-in-law throw her arms around her son 37 years after their separation confirmed this myth’s error.

So, what does an earthly adoption have to do with a heavenly one? There are myths around both. One should be understood to help understand the other. There are stories in both that would take a book to explain, not a web page – and that’s what I need to be doing.

I have neither the time nor inclination to do both. I started on the family adoption story last year, but obligations took me from it and the beginnings were lost when I changed computers. For some time now, I’ve felt very strongly that the story needs to be told. Family members have asked about it, and only a couple of us kept copies of correspondence during the search and the reunion.

And, there’s much more to the story than my husband and his brother’s adoption and reunion – the loss of family continuity and the reconnection. To write it down for my great-grands and even their children to understand will take more time than I’ve given to it before.

So – after much prayer, I believe this is as good a time as any to step away from this blog and begin the story. I will most likely drop back here time to time, leaving a Bible verse or a progress status. If you want to know something in between, feel free to drop me an e-mail at GrammyBlick(at)gmail.com – just change the (at) to the @ sign.

While I’m busy elsewhere, please pick up a Bible, find a scripture you like and share it with me. That would be greatly appreciated!!