Enough

During a fairly normal conversation with a friend, I brought up that I was advocating for a child on my blog. A child that grabbed my heart and that we were waiting for God to speak to us about him.

The response: “Another one? Geez guys, haven’t you all done enough?”

I was kinda stunned for a second then threw out a little nervous laugh and reminded him that there were 147 MILLION orphans in the world. We have adopted 5. Just 5.

That got me thinking about what he said.

What is the perception of enough?

I actually went to the dictionary (online, of course, ’cause I don’t own any other type!) because I wanted to fully understand the actual definition of this word, not my perceived definition of the word.

enough: occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations.

And there it was…expectations.

Because 5 adoptions doesn’t meet the demands of the orphaned children or the need for families to adopt, the issue is then with the expectation of what is enough.

And, because we are human, each person’s expectation of what is enough is different.

I mean, last night at Cold Stone, Jacob wanted the Gotta Have It cup size of Oreo Crème Filling ice cream (translation: 12 oz LARGE SIZE), and I felt that the kid size was enough. He also wanted multiple mix-ins (marshmallows, gummy bears, and rainbow sprinkles), and I only allowed him to have 1.

The problem with this issue is that when it comes to caring for God’s children, the only person who can define what is enough is God.

To my friend, 1 adoption is enough. His baseline thinking is: There is an orphan problem; you adopt one of them; you’ve done your part.

In my view, this isn’t about “your part.” It’s about God’s call and what HE wants YOU to do.

For some families, God’s call is to adopt 1 child.

For another family, God’s call might be to adopt 9 children.

It looks different for every family.

In my opinion, this can’t be defined with our human eyes or by our level of comfort or by the level of “risk” we want to personally take on, because humans are normally all about comfort and low risk (I know I am). This is why I cannot and do not depend on my own self as a determining factor on whether we adopt again.

Adoption is about a lot of things including risk and being uncomfortable, and God never promised that following him wouldn’t be risky or uncomfortable. But, sometimes, you have to experience those things in order to experience God’s BEST.

As missionary Hudson Taylor put it: God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply. This means that if the Lord has directed you to adopt, He will bless you with everything necessary to accomplish what He has asked you to do regardless if it’s the 1st adoption or the 10th. And, by “everything necessary,” I mean: patience, love, money, etc.

He’s done it 5 times for us. 5 TIMES.

God is faithful, and He doesn’t fail.

The Bible states clearly that only good things come from Him.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

“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.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

So, if God is asking us to adopt again, then it must be a good thing from Him. Therefore, we made the decision to let God decide how many adoptions is ENOUGH. And, truthfully, I don’t know what that number will look like. This is scary and exciting at the same time! And, that’s what following God is all about.

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Nicole is a Christian wife and mother to 6 amazing blessings. She has a 19-year-old daughter Katelyn (19) who is homegrown and 5 miracles through International Adoption:  Jacob (7) was adopted from Russia and Kiah (5), Luke (4), Logan (3), and Ava (3) were adopted from China.  You can read more about her and her family here.