Let's Talk Adoption.

I'm excited to share some great stuff with you.  But first, don't forget that it's First Day! Keep snapping and I'll see you tomorrow to link up!

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November is Adoption Awareness Month.  

I want to shed light on the myths that surround orphans all year long, but this month especially.

Since Gabe's adoption, I've been doing a lot of soul searching on how adoption and taking care of orphans is going to fit into our family in this next stage of life.  It's caused me to have some real heart to hearts with Andrew, some pity parties with God, and some deep changing of my previous stances.

I used to feel like foster care was my purpose.

I had a hard time understanding why families traveled thousands of miles from the US to give life to orphans when we have hundreds of thousands of hopeless orphans right here.  I'd get angry thinking of the outrageous cost of adopting overseas, thinking of what that money could do in the lives of our orphans.

But recently God has brought me a perspective check.

All orphans need a home.

All of them.

Born here.  Born there.  It doesn't matter.  The problem is big.  The future is bleak.  And it is going to require all of us to do our part.  I believe that God has called every person to help the orphans (James 1:27).  

It can be scary and it's easy to talk yourself out of it.  To walk away with a, "that's not my calling."

True, you might not be at a place where adopting is an option.  But bringing relief, supporting others on their quest to bring the orphans home, that is an option.

God makes families in a multitude of ways.  

It's really amazing to step out of our small world and see how vast God's plan is.  He reaches areas that, for the most part, we don't like to think about.

I'm still not sure what our family will look like two years from now.

It might still be the four of us, helping orphans in an intangible way.  Maybe there will be new little Pope's tugging at my legs all day.  We might be apart of an amazing open adoption, a miracle private adoption or maybe even an overseas adoption.  All I do know is that God isn't done with us yet and our call to help will never be done.

And I'm ready for It.  Whatever It ends up being.

Throughout the month I'll have some guest bloggers here at Journey To Josie sharing all about how they were changed by adoption.

We'll get to hear from ladies that have dealt with all different types of adoptions.  From the fairytales to the difficult, domestic and abroad, planned and spontaneous.

It's going to be awesome.  Perhaps God will use these stories to show you how you could help the orphans.

All of us helping all of them.

That's how we end this crisis.

(Here is a list of some great adoption blogs.)

We Are Grafted In - lots of adoption stories
Gloriously Ruined - Ethiopian Adoption
My Overthinking - China Adoption
Under The Sycamore - China Adoption
Mom's Ramblings - US Adoption
Traded Dreams - Ethiopian Adoption
After His Smile - African Adoption
Bumber's Bumblings - US Open Adoption