Not so trendy

The other day I was shopping at the mall, and I was at the checkout counter. The girl at the counter started chatting with me and asked me how many kids we had. I told her we had 2 girls, and that we were pursuing adoption of a little boy. One cool thing was that the girl at the counter told me that she had been adopted from Romania when she was a child. As we were talking I could see this other woman out of the corner of my eye looking at me. She very sweetly spoke to me and said,"may I ask where you are adopting from?" I told her from Ethiopia, and she had this look on her face like 'of course,' and she told me,"we are about to pursue adoption in Ethiopia as well." Come to find out, this very sweet woman and her family live very near to us and visited our fruitstand the following Saturday. She shared with me that she knew before she even asked the question that I was going to anwer "Ethiopia" to her. God is so great like that! He brought encouragement to both of us while we were at the mall and I believe confirmation :)I am excited to see what God is going to do in this family's life through adoption!
It sure seems like a lot of people are stepping out and adopting now-a-days. In fact, the case worker from our homestudy told us that there were more adoptions coming out of Ethiopia in our area than anyplace else, and that there is a HUGE Ethiopian adoptive community in this area...whoop whoop!
I have heard several people say that adoption within the Christian community is "trendy" right now. I guess if you are on the outside looking in it sure may seem that way. There are more and more people opening up their homes to adoption these days, which is so wonderful! Trendy it may seem, but I don't think that is the case. In fact, I know it's not. It's too hard to be trendy. The adoption journey isn't an easy road to walk down, and ours has only begun. It's surely expensive and difficult, and stressful, and an emotional rollercoaster. You meet people who are wonderfully supportive, and then you meet a lot of people who aren't understanding and don't quite get it, and don't agree with the path you are on. One day you are excited and the next, fear tries to creep in with all the what if's. It requires a lot of work and sacrifice. You kind of have to toughen up, and you for sure have to have your game face on. IT IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE! I think people are pursuing adoption because God is calling them to, and because their hearts have been broken and changed forever. Their eyes have been opened and they can't look back. It's not because it's trendy. God is doing something! He is magnifying His heart for the orphan! His timing is perfect and He knows what He is doing! He is opening eyes, changing hearts, and breaking down barriers. I can't wait to see the day when the new "normal" is the culturally diverse family. God's way is beautiful and it's going to catch fire and blaze through other hearts. It's not trendy my friends, it's God's work and His heart for His people, for we are ALL adopted as orphans into His kingdom. It's a reflection of His kingdom! On earth as it is in Heaven!