Our kids are not our own. At least, I’m speaking from the perspective of Patrick and I. They, like everything else that’s “ours,” are God’s first and foremost and He has graciously left them in our stewardship while they are here on earth.
While this concept is really threatening to some, it’s quite comforting to us. It really comes down to the freedom that comes in trusting God’s sovereignty. While we do our best to love, educate, entertain, and protect our children, we trust God is their ultimate everything. For us, it really takes the pressure off…at least in theory. We’re human and stress over which school to send them too and whether it’s the right time to move to a booster from a 5-point harness, but we try to make a conscious effort to let God be God and not worry about them so much. We continually ask for God’s blessing and wisdom where our kids are concerned and try not to stress about the little things that can bog us down.
How does this relate to adoption? Well, adoptive parents, especially, tend to be very possessive of their children. When you work so hard to get them here, it’s kinda hard not to be. It’s also how the world perceives them with questions like “Does he feel like yours yet?”
Patrick explored this question shortly after coming home with Ty. You can read his post here.
I also think this idea of possessiveness plays into how well (or not well) we wait to bring our children home, how we integrate them into our family, our expectations of them, and our ease of letting them explore who they are. I’m not sure I’m ready to expand on all of those but I’d love to know your thoughts them.