Of Course He Does

Have you ever lost someone in your life that you really looked up to?

Larry Cranfill is one of those people for me.  Larry and I were never super close or anything, but he served on staff at the church where Kenneth and I formerly served.  He passed away after Kenneth and I had moved to Alabama to serve at Westwood.  Larry had a wonderful, toothy grin and an infectious heart for Jesus.  His desire for God’s glory to be made known among the nations was so obvious that it seemed to ooze out of him at every moment.  He didn’t care if everyone, or anyone, agreed with him; he simply pursued Jesus wholeheartedly and let the chips fall as they may.  I loved that about him.  What a wonderful example he set of living to please God alone.   

Whenever you had a question about something that involved missions and started with “Does God want me to do or go_____”, Larry would just flash that big, toothy grin and say very matter-of-fact, “Of course He does.”  And that was that.  He was excited when Kenneth and I told him about adopting our boys from Ethiopia, and he was always encouraging us when we made decisions in our pursuit of Jesus that looked foolish to others.  He spoke words of wisdom and life (Proverbs 18:21).

Over the last few months I cannot tell you how many times Larry’s words have rolled around in my mind.  There have been times that I start looking at certain circumstances or listening to what so-and-so says needs to be in our bank account, retirement account, college accounts, and the list goes on.  When I dwell on those things it is easy to get caught up in the American Dream, or Pinterest Museum, and ask “What in the world are we doing adopting a fifth child?!  We can’t do this!  Does God really want us to do this?!” 

When the adoption door closed with India, after already being led away from Ethiopia, there were several moments that I asked, “Does God even want us to adopt?”  And it only took seconds to hear Larry saying, “Of course He does.” God then used His Word to gently remind me that He did call us to this and His heart for orphans has not changed. 

There have been so many scriptures that God has used to continually guide us along this path.  Our adoption journey now looks so so different from the one we took in 2009-2010 when we brought Aiden and Asa home.  In one sense, there has been so much more time to just sit around and think about everything.  We have been walking this path for 18 months now and in some ways it feels like we are no closer to the end than when we started.  In another sense, there is a lot less time to think about things because we have a very busy household.  Although so much has changed, God’s Word has remained the same.  He continues to show me that adoption is near to Him and I would be far from Him without it.

Not everyone is called to physically bring a child into his or her family through adoption.  However, God has called my family to do this.  I have realized that every time I ask, “Does God even want us to adopt?” I am focusing on the things of this world.  I am allowing what makes sense in our current culture to drive my thoughts and emotions.    

That is not the way of Christ. 

Does God approve of adoption?  Of course He does.  He has adopted us through Christ.  Moses was adopted (by Pharaoh’s daughter).  Jesus was adopted (by Joseph).  Does God command that we look after orphans and widows?  Of course He does.  Does God say that children are a blessing and a reward?  Of course He does.  Does God desire for these orphans to have a mother and a father who will try their hardest to point those children to Jesus?  Of course He does.  Does God have the means to provide for this?  Of course He does.  Has God used people to provide for our adoption up to this point?  Of course He has.   Has He given us a heart bent toward adoption?  Of course He has.  Is adoption one means of fulfilling God’s mission and extending His glory to the ends of the earth?  Absolutely.

Does it matter that we may never get to take our kids to Disney World or go on a week long vacation?  No, not really.  Not when I think about a child in an orphanage who doesn’t even have a mom or a dad.  Does it matter that we won’t be able to go many places because of the size of our family and the cost?  No, not really.  Not when I think about children who may never hear or see the gospel.  Does it matter that I will have to cook dinner every night because we won’t be going out to eat?  No.  Not when I think about the many children going hungry and the mothers who wish they had the means to make dinner for their family.  Does it matter that our house might feel crowded with 7 people in less than 2700 sqft?  Honestly, I cannot even type all the answers to that question. 

I have to ask myself by whose standard I am evaluating the answers to these questions.  The fight against the tragic “American Dream” is a grueling battle that I intend to engage in every single day for the rest of my life.  When I focus on allegiance to God’s Kingdom rather than building my own, there really is no question as to whether or not God wants our family to adopt.  I keep hearing Him say to me, “I put this on your heart for a reason.  I have provided for you up to this point and I am not going to stop.  Trust me.” 

There are times when we wrestle through finding God’s exact answer for a particular situation, when really all we need to do is remind ourselves of His Word and the mission He has given us and we find that the answer is a simple “Of course He does” or “Of course God would do that.”  No, it isn’t always that simple.  But sometimes it is.  Sometimes we try to complicate things when all we need to do is delight ourselves in the Lord and joyfully follow His simple (though not easy) command to make disciples of all nations.

When we are faithfully studying the Scriptures, when we seek wise counsel, when we are delighting ourselves in the Lord and He has given us a desire for something that He obviously encourages in His Word, sometimes the better question is, “Why would God say ‘no’?”  What a blessing to have His Holy Spirit leading us and guiding us so that we can discern moments like these!

I cannot help but to imagine what Larry would say to us if we could talk with him about this adoption process up to this point.  I know at every turn he would have encouraged us and had stories about Kingdom work that is going on in each country we have considered.  He would have said something like “That’s just awesome.  I am proud of you guys.”   And he would mean it.

I am so thankful as I think of the impact some people have had on my life simply because they passionately followed Jesus.  Some are now at home with the Lord, some are on the mission field, some are diligently serving in churches across the country, some are still around me today.  I am thankful for this great cloud of witnesses, who encourage me to run the race with endurance, fixing my eyes on Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:1-3). 

ADOPTION UPDATE:

Please continue to be in prayer for us.  We are currently waiting on our approval extension from US Customs and Immigration, which will determine if we can adopt internationally.  We have already been approved but the approval only lasts 18 months before it has to be extended.  If they extend our approval we plan to move forward with international adoption.  We cannot move forward with a particular country until we have this approval in our hands.