Hidden cradles in the hot sun

A small child plays freely on the grass in his yard. His eyes move occasionally to the flower bed where his mother is pulling the new spring weeds. Up and down the yard he runs, or skips; stopping every-so-often to look at an interesting piece of wood or a rock or a flower that catches his attention. He is happy. He is loved. He was born into a life of comfort and prosperity; he is growing up in a land of freedom: not soon to realize how blessed he truely is: He is the American child.

A young infant lies in his assigned crib. The sun is too hot to expose his already frail body to. Even if he were to be taken outside, there is no grass for the intensity of heat withers it away before it can even grow: an illustration of his own life. There is no color on the walls so he stares straight up at the blank ceiling. Occasionally a care-giver picks him up- giving him some much-needed human contact-but then she is gone again. He knows she is not "mother." He is weak. Unloved. He was abandoned in a land of cruel poverty: all too soon will he learn the hard truth of survival of the fittest. He is the Ethiopian orphan.

These are the children who number in the millions. As more babies fill the homes of the pampered Western cribs through fertility treatments or natural conception, these children are forgotten. They wait in the hot sun of Africa with little hope of being found. Their crys are too small to be heard...they are voiceless, lost, forgotten.

We are that American family: blessed with wealth beyond the dreams of the Ethiopian orphan. Our heart goes out to them as we ask ourselves "What can one family do?" "What can WE do?" The plight is endless...a problem for governments of nations...not individual families.
But we can help. And this is why we have chosen to adopt. Soon, our hearts will be filled with another child to call our own: another child to run through our grass, to tuck into bed, to call "Son" or "daughter," to train in the instruction of the Lord and to bring into the covenant blessings of our Christian home.

Yes, it is a big decision which should be met with careful prayer and consideration. The financial burden is great, the stress: tiresome. Is the life of an orphan worth it?

Our answer is "YES!"

Follow this blog through our journey to get our child!