Adoption has always been a huge part of me. I was adopted at 18 months old from Thailand and I have five sisters and we are all adopted. I’ve gone through the adoption process with my sisters.
As an adoptee I’ve ventured into understanding my own adoption and learning about where I fit into supporting orphan prevention, orphan care, and adoption.
A few weeks ago I was thinking about what I would say to someone thinking of adopting. At first I wanted to include just the happy parts about adoption. But, then I got to thinking, If I were to just share the positives about adoption I wouldn’t be giving a well rounded view of adoption. So, I decided that I needed to share all sides of adoption no matter how happy or sad.
This is what I would share with somebody thinking about adopting:
Be ready to have your life changed.
Adoption changes a person. Be ready to view the world differently. Be ready to want to change everything. Be ready to get mad at people for decisions they have made.
Be ready to learn.
Be ready to learn a whole new additional vocabulary. In addition to a new vocabulary, be ready to learn how challenges and situations such as poverty, human trafficking, war and unrest in society, family situations, and medical challenges will impact a child’s spiritual, mental, and physical development.
Be ready to grow.
From the time you consider adopting to the time you make your final decision about adopting, you will grow. You will grow in compassion, love, and understanding. You will discover that you are capable of way more then you ever expected or imagined.
Be ready to hurt.
Adoption isn’t all puppies and roses. Your heart is probably going to hurt when things don’t go exactly as planned. Your heart will hurt when you realize you can’t change everything.
As you consider adopting remember that you are giving a child or children a chance at a different life. You are going to be a living breathing example of love to your child or children.
