My travels recently brought me to New York City. We took a moonlight boat trip around the city and saw a lot of great sites. We went past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and I thought about the significance that those two places must have had for the millions of immigrants that have come to our country over the years. I thought about Lady Liberty and what she has symbolized for those who were no longer able to live in the countries where they were born. I thought about my own daughters and all the CSC kids who came to live in America, and what this country has meant for them.
One thing that I have learned about adoption and adopted kids, is that they don't look at adoption the same way that adoptive parents or observers do. They don't always have the same perspective on being "saved" or "rescued" through adoption. One of our former CSC kids had a hard time when people told her how lucky she was to be adopted. She didn't see her life as having been lucky at all. Another girl who had grown up in the worst squatter area in Cebu City had difficulty responding to people who told her that God had a wonderful plan for her life through adoption. She wondered about all the children left behind in the squallor of that slum and what God's plan was for them. Sometimes the people who actually come through the difficult circumstances of losing their birth families and coming to a new country see things a little differently than the rest of us do.
But I still think of Lady Liberty offering a clean slate and a light in the darkness to our kids. I think of the opportunities that they have here for education, medical care and religious liberty. I have a sense of what they have lost but I want them to know what they have been given, as well. I want them to be thankful for the people and institutions that have helped make a difference in their lives. Most of all, I want them to love God and to trust Him with the future.
One thing that I have learned about adoption and adopted kids, is that they don't look at adoption the same way that adoptive parents or observers do. They don't always have the same perspective on being "saved" or "rescued" through adoption. One of our former CSC kids had a hard time when people told her how lucky she was to be adopted. She didn't see her life as having been lucky at all. Another girl who had grown up in the worst squatter area in Cebu City had difficulty responding to people who told her that God had a wonderful plan for her life through adoption. She wondered about all the children left behind in the squallor of that slum and what God's plan was for them. Sometimes the people who actually come through the difficult circumstances of losing their birth families and coming to a new country see things a little differently than the rest of us do.
But I still think of Lady Liberty offering a clean slate and a light in the darkness to our kids. I think of the opportunities that they have here for education, medical care and religious liberty. I have a sense of what they have lost but I want them to know what they have been given, as well. I want them to be thankful for the people and institutions that have helped make a difference in their lives. Most of all, I want them to love God and to trust Him with the future.
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