What If?

I think about it often when I look into the eyes of my beautiful daughters. What if we had said no? We struggled for years with the decision to adopt the first time out of fear and uncertainty. The decision for Laikyn came much easier, as we already knew the immense joy of adoption, but there were a few months that we struggled with the special needs label, fearful of an unknown medical condition. Now, loving each of them with a love I can't even explain, it brings me to tears to think we could have said no and missed all of this.What haunts me even more is that there are so many beautiful babies left behind. Joshua Zhong, the founder of the agency that handled Laikyn's adoption, said that most special needs kids are never adopted and end up leaving the orphanage to face a life on the streets with peddling, prostitution, and human trafficking being likely scenarios. There were over 200 special needs kids in Laikyns little orphanage and I will always look at her little picture album and wonder what happened to them. I know from the many people that have told me they have considered adoption, that most of the time, people do, for many reasons, say no. I always wonder if the tug they felt was God guiding them to a baby he had hand picked especially for them. I know From experience that Satan counters that tug with negativity, fear, and uncertainty in God's plan. I'm sure he rages when an orphan finds hope. It probably reminds him of the power we find in Christ when He adopts us as His own. One of the main concerns is usually the expense. The adoption tax credit has for years allowed families to experience a great reduction in adoption expenses and bring the total to a more reasonable amount. That credit is set to expire this year and adoption advocates believe it will cause many people with open and willing hearts to have to say no. There are now bills in both the house and senate to make the tax credit permanent and affordable. God commands us to care for orphans. I believe that supporting this bill is one way we can do that. It takes five minutes to create an account and sign. What if that five minutes provides hope for one of the most hopeless?