our children

Our children are not our property.  They belong to God.  We are given the job of raising and training them while they are on the earth.

This is helpful for us to remember at all stages in the adoption process.  God determines whether you will raise children.  If you do raise children, they will inevitably grow up and leave you.  If you remember tat they are always subjects to God's influence, this will make their coming or going, their health or misfortune, easier for you to bear.  If you entrust them into God's care at an early age, you and your children can share in this confidence.

Children are a reward from the Lord (Ps. 127:3).  We are their caretakers on earth.  but their heavenly Father watches over them constantly and eternally.  He is a "father of the fatherless" (Ps. 68:5) and has a plan for each of us. 

" "For I know the plans I have for you.' declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future' " (Jer. 29:11).  It is our charge, in the short time our children are with us, to encourage them in their love and knowledge of the Lord so that their lives will be a tribute to a gracious God.

~Should You Adopt? by C.M. Field