I never set out to adopt a 7-year old with Downs Syndrome. I didn’t think big enough. His plans are greater than my capacity to comprehend.

For those who have never gone through the adoption or foster process, I’ll explain a little. You are given a form, or more likely several forms with very similar (if not duplicate) questions of what you will accept. Will you accept a child of a different race? Yes, No or will consider. Will you accept a child with mild visual impairments? Yes, No or will consider. Will you consider a child with an extra finger or toe? What about missing a finger or toe? What about missing an arm or a leg? A child with a cleft palate? What about a child who is blind? Deaf? Malnourished? What about a child with Spina Bifida? Downs Syndrome? HIV? Autism? Other genetic disorders? What about a child who will need major surgery?  What about a child who is not expected to live past childhood?

In other words, how far are you willing to go? How big is your yes? How much are you willing to trust God?

I’m not saying it’s wrong to choose “no” on any of those questions. We said no on two things, things that just seemed like they wouldn’t fit with our family or were too overwhelming to think about. But our goal was this: to expand our “yes” and make it as big as possible. To trust Him with whatever grace He would give us. Saying no to a child felt very much like saying no to Him. It felt like Song of Solomon’s “You go leap on the mountains. I’ll stay here, thankyouverymuch.”  (Please read:  this is the process God was taking us through. It’s most likely not applicable to all situations.)

So we said yes to a variety of special needs, believing that if we were chosen to parent one of those precious children, God would give us the grace to do so. And we were chosen for a precious, joyful, handsome boy. We’ve disrupted birth order and thrown ourselves into a world we haven’t had to navigate previously, a world of therapies, specialists,  special school district, trying to understand what our son is attempting to tell us… a whole new world. We know there will be challenges ahead of us. Aren’t there always? But we cannot describe the sheer joy that this precious boy has brought into our family.

80-90% of babies with Down Syndrome are aborted.

In Nazi Germany, having Down Syndrome was a death sentence. It made you worthy of a concentration camp or of being lined up and shot.

And yet I was secretly hoping to welcome a child with DS into our home. Why? Because adults with DS have the highest rate of satisfaction with their lives. I think the world could use more of that, not less. And this little boy will reveal God to us in a new and beautiful way. And because he is pure in heart, we know that he will SEE GOD!

Thank you Jesus for Your amazing mercies! Thank You for enlarging our capacity for love and for enriching our lives with this precious addition to our family!

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