Today,
It wasn't what the pastor or Sunday School Teacher said that mattered so much...it was life played out right in front of me that teaches me so much.
And it is about adoption.
We are said to be God's kids by adoption. Jesus is his natural son...everyone else is sons by adoption.
And the Bible talks a lot about adoption. Ruth, Esther, Moses, and Timothy were all adopted by someone in the Bible. In some of these cases it was child adoption...but mostly it was "Older Child adoption".
And in case some of you people aren't aware of "older child adoption" by your local Social Services...its a real thing. And it is usually the absolutely most heartbreaking way to gain a child.
Most people think about adopting babies and all the cuteness associated with it. But here in America it is ridiculously stupid expensive to do so. Most birth mothers, who have no business procreating to begin with, for some inexplicable reason feel the need to destroy a perfect baby by a combination of abuse and neglect for some years before the state takes notice and removes the child from his/her home to the foster system...where the child then is further abused by the state, birth mother, and other foster children before being put up for adoption.
And by this time there is no reasonable expectation that the child will behave in any sort of sane, reasonable fashion in an otherwise "normal home".
Usually the children are only being half treated for genetic maladies such as pediatric bipolar disorder and then there are the environmental issues like PTSD and being treated like so much refuse by your mother. And also considering that many of the social service workers themselves are either half nuts or overworked and unconcerned...its a wonder that anyone survives the process. (The children or adoptive parents) Many times it simply doesn't work and older children that have been adopted get "unadopted" and go back into the system until they age out.
And yet,
Here we are...
We are the "older child" adoption stories. We have this wonderful new Father God. A new family...we have the best family in the world...the dream come true that we wished for on so many lonely nights...and we blow it regularly because where our family has changed we haven't...we are still our same old selves in so many ways despite our best intentions. We are the problem children of household who just don't seem to measure up the same as the natural children do.
BUT
We are loved just the same as the natural children. All the same passion, all the same love that the Natural Children get, so do we. The same rewards and punishments get to be ours.
And even though I am an "Older Child" adoptee...and the "problem child" I am truly grateful for being a member of this family.
And where this wasn't preached from the pulpit...wasn't covered in any lesson at anytime by anyone...it is one I learned at church.
The first song we actually sung but the second song I just really like and it still fits the sermon.
