Responsibly Irresponsible

One may say that deciding to join a team headed to Uganda 2 weeks before departure, is slightly irresponsible.  How could it seem responsible for one to decide to leave their 3 year old daughter, husband and job, at a moment’s notice?  Just a few weeks before taking this leap of faith, God began challenging me to do what Mark Batterson, author of Chase the Goose, deems living “responsibly irresponsible.” And in my opinion, my decision was just that!

We don’t serve a rational God, therefore He often calls us to do what could be judged as irrational or completely crazy!  Speaking of which, Jamie and I have felt the call to adopt. We’ve spent the last 18 months seeking God’s wisdom, and together, we decided that I should head to Uganda in search of clarity.

I can’t say I’ve received 100% clarity; however, I do feel God slowly revealing His will for this process. I came with no expectations of a “hallmark” experience of “love at first sight”.  For me, the fear of adopting is very real.  When a child’s early life experiences include mental, physical, emotional abuse and neglect, it has the potential to create significant life-long issues.  But when I consider how Christ adopts us in our most broken forms, who am I to consider doing any less?  

There’s certainly no shortage of children needing families in Uganda.  In fact, today I served at Loving Hearts Babies Home.  This facility is currently caring for 18 children, awaiting their “forever family”. This is a minuscule number in relation to over 150 million orphans world-wide.

While Jamie and I feel that, with Christ, we have the capacity to love any child, and while Loving Hearts does a great job caring for the children there, I didn’t feel our potential child was at this particular facility.

This journey may have initially felt the size of a giant redwood tree. However, the whittling process has begun.  I have no doubt this “redwood” will become a toothpick.

Bethany 

a.k.a. “Brittany” or “Bridget”