The Concept of Adoption

Until that fateful Sunday 14 months ago, when I had what I call my "adoption revelation" I never thought much about adoption. To me, adoption was about other people. I was not for it or against it...it just did not have anything to do with me. In fact, I did not even know that it was a concept that some people are for, or are against. I know differently now, and I know where I stand on it.But that is not what I am going to write about today.

On that day, I began my immersion into the concept of adoption as we know it, and there was no turning back, and my life has not been the same since. I know it will never be the same. It was like a gigantic wake up call, and every day a new door opened or a new page was turned, and I saw things and learned things that I'd never seen before. I became very aware of the world outside my box. It was without a doubt one of the best things that ever happened to me.


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After that I began seeing the concept of adoption in other areas. I'm not talking about pet adoption. (Why do they call it pet adoption, when it's really pet rescue???? I mean, the chances are good that the pet will be eventually euthenized if it does not find a home, I think that qualifies as a rescue!) I began to see alot of talk in Christian circles about God's adoption of us. This confuses me because I already thought I was God's child, that is how I was taught. But some people believe that because we are sinners, that when we accept Jesus Christ, we become part of God's family. Thats when we are adopted. I realize this is an analogy, and an interesting one. It is another concept of adoption. This is when we connect our heart with the heart of God.

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It occured to me the other day that I have lived in the South now for 25% of my life. That is a big chunk for a native Californian. Long before the other day, however, the South had become my adopted homeland. Somewhere in the pain of homesickness and the joy of new discovery, my heart connected to this place, and that is how it became my adopted homeland. I have known this for years now.

Webster's New World dictionary says: 'adopt' v. 1.take legally as one's child 2.take as one's own 3.choose or accept



Funny, I dont see anything about the heart in there. It sounds so dry! Unless you are talking about 'adopting' a law, which is dry stuff anyway! Now I can't imagine the concept of adoption without the heart. I can't imagine the concept of adoption with out love ( with the exception of an 'adoption' of a law). Webster talks about commitment, he talks about choosing, he talks about legality, but he does not capture the concept of adoption.


Hmmn...so maybe I spoke too soon, maybe it's not just pet rescue. I know that day, years ago when I brought my puppy home from the pound, she was already in my heart. I drove to South Carolina and back two days in a row to make that happen!