Is Adoption Right for Us?

How does one know if adoption is right for one's family? For Andrew and I it was a long process. We went through the following steps, but not necessarily in this order.

1. Pray. Kay Warren shared the wisest advice I ever heard for those considering adoption (and even those who have never considered adoption). Ask God, "Do you want me to adopt?" Ask God to give you a desire to adopt, if it is His will for you to adopt.


2. Don't Rush. Adoption is a huge decision. It took Andrew and I over a year from our first discussions about adoption until we made the decision that we were going to adopt.


3. Hear the Heart of Adoption. Read personal stories of families who have adopted and stories from children who have been adopted. Hearing these stories will make adoption more real to you rather than an abstract thought.


4. Research. What are your biggest fears about adoption? Finding answers to your questions will put your fears to rest and make you more confident about adoption.


5. Consider Timing. Is adoption right for your family, but the timing wrong? For us, the timing wasn't right when I first wanted to adopt. But two years later, the timing was right to start the long adoption process. God's timing for bringing our children will be perfect for our family. I have friends who wants to adopt, but the husband is in school and they just had a baby. They know adoption is in their future, but for know they are waiting.


6. Organize your Finances. You don't need to be rich or have a huge savings to adopt, but you do need to financially responsible. Andrew and I had to get on a budget before we could start the adoption process. From the start of our marriage, we were purposeful about not getting into debt (besides a small home mortgage) so that financial problems wouldn't prevent us from following God's will for our life, wherever that lead us.

Tomorrow's post will be on what to do when one spouse wants to adopt and the other doesn't. Yes, one of us wanted to adopt before the other!