This was an very interesting book about the Christian perspective on adoption. Not only on adopting children into a family, but how it relates to us being adopted as the children of God. It was very interesting to see the parallels.
One thing that kept coming back while reflecting on what I had read was the idea the author had about an adopted child's culture. It is important to keep an adopted child aware of where they came from, isn't it?
We have adopted five children from Ukraine. Keeping them aware of Ukrainian culture has been something we have made half-hearted efforts at over the years. Ukrainian food is really good. We enjoy those meals where we go out of our way to prepare it. As far as the rest of Ukrainian culture, well, we have fallen well short of my own expectations. It seems like it is just a waste of time to keep them in tune with the motherland when they are Hills kids now. Know what I mean?
Well, this author did. He expressed that feeling in a way I had not been able to before. It made perfect sense when I read it. Once we are adopted into God's family and are his children, does he desire for us to keep current in cultural awareness of our previous sinful life? Does he desire to expose us to the way we were before we were adopted? Of course not. In a way that is exactly what I have been feeling about my own kids. They are MY children now. They are living here and are citizens here. If Ukraine was so great then why are they here in the first place? Why would I wish to push a culture on them that has caused them all heart-ache and pain?
Something else that struck me...as Christians we are called to care for orphans and widows...that does not mean we are all called to bring a child into our homes and be their parents. There are many other ways to "care".
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