Last week the subject of adoption showed up in my world in a few ways and I realized I hadn’t really covered it in any great detail on this blog. So, let’s correct that oversight today!

I’m going to address three examples of adoption from the least impactful (relatively speaking) to the most.

You might guess from the photo that one of our adoption subjects is featured there. Yep. This is a photo of my original Miss Sassy Pants, Maisy, on the left, and my newest addition to the family, through adoption, on the right.

She’s an eight to nine-month-old French Bulldog now named Mimi, because, hello (!), she’s FRENCH! She came originally from the streets of Iowa City and then to a wonderful rescue in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Many of you are wondering what happened to my “rule” of now being a one-dog house. Well, in short, I began to see that Maisy could truly benefit from having a canine sibling to share her life with, because quite frankly, Mommy just isn’t enough anymore!

So, two days after I saw this sweet face on Facebook, and after a successful meet-and-greet between the two girls, Mimi is now squarely ensconced in her new home. And Maisy is thrilled to have someone with her energy level. Did I mention Mommy isn’t enough?

The beauty of pet adoption is that a homeless canine child finds their furever home and brings a slew of blessings to the occupants of that home. Thus is the case with Maisy, Mimi & Me.

For those of you who have gone down this road in your own homes, thank you for sharing a piece of your world with an animal who deserves the best.

The second most impactful example of adoption was dramatically displayed in the movie, Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, which I saw recently.

“This powerful true story follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible— adopting 77 children — this East Texas community proved that, with real, determined love, the battle for America’s most vulnerable can be won.”

That’s the “sound bite” of the movie, but to see the full story play out is incredibly inspirational. In the end, it’s clearly a feel-good story, but they don’t shield the audience from the raw, painful struggles that accompany each and every adoption in Possum Trot.

Only 22 committed families took in those 77 children. Incredible. One of the most powerful moments was when Pastor Martin called the social worker to tell her they could take on a few more kids and she told him, “There are no more children to adopt within a 100-mile radius of Possum Trot!”

The impact on each of those 77 children, on the families who bravely faced the traumas these children brought into their homes, and on the community as a whole, is immeasurable.

Once again, for anyone who has opened their homes and hearts in such a powerful way, I thank God for you.

As life changing as these two examples are, neither can hold a candle to the most crucial adoption anyone can ever be a part of – the adoption as a son or daughter of Almighty God.

One of the texts in scripture that describes this well is from Galatians 4:4-5

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (or daughters).

So, just how do we become a child of God, and then, what does that mean for us to be a part of his family?

While volumes have been written on part one of that question, here is a simple guide from Romans 10:9:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Here are a few of the God-given benefits of surrendering your life to Christ:

• Security: Children of God are secure and can enjoy sonship, not fear, and run to their father for support.
• Assurance/Inheritance: Children of God have the assurance of eternal life with God knowing that Jesus has paid the price for our sins to purchase eternity in heaven for those who trust in his death and resurrection.
• Intimacy: Children of God can relate to God as a loving father and cry out to him as “Abba” which means Daddy.
• Discipline: Children of God are disciplined by a loving father who doesn’t use his authority selfishly or withhold difficult things out of need for love and approval.
• Family likeness: Children of God are led by the Holy Spirit and relate to other believers as family.
• New nature: Children of God are created to be like God in righteousness and holiness. 

If this last adoption is a newer topic for you, it’s certainly worth a deeper dig into God’s Word. I can’t begin to cover it all here, but it’s vitally important to know if you are, indeed, a true Child of God.

In love He predestined us to adoption as sons

through Jesus Christ to Himself,

according to the kind intention of His will.

It was because of His love for us that

God chose to adopt us into His family.

Ephesians 1:4-5