Parents Of Discarded Children

Parents Of Discarded Children

God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5

When we think about today’s verse, sometimes it’s hard to imagine what it means for God to never fail us or abandon us. Most of us have had experiences in life when others have let us down or not lived up to our expectations. We’ve experienced loneliness, and we know what it feels like to be forgotten.

Bob and Linda’s children understand abandonment in ways you or I probably never will—nor would want to. But with Bob and Linda as their adoptive parents now, I know these kids will never feel abandoned again.

When Bob and Linda heard that a large mental health facility was closing, they knew that some wards of the state would have nowhere to go. So, they got involved and decided to adopt two mentally impaired adults and care for them as they would their own children. They asked me to do the adoption physicals, and I was happy to play a small part in the beautiful thing they were doing.

A few months later, Bob and Linda were back in my office.

This time, they had three little boys with them. Each one was malnourished and below the fifth percentile for height and weight for their ages. It was obvious that these boys had been severely neglected their entire lives. Bob and Linda had been foster parenting them for weeks, and now they wanted to adopt them.

“I need to be honest with you,” I said. “Your hands are already full with your two adult children. These boys are going to need a lot of time and attention to recover from all they’ve been through. I’m not trying to scare you; I just want you to know what you’re getting into.”

Bob and Linda were unfazed. They looked at these boys the same way first-time parents look at their brand-new babies. They were already in love with these new additions to their family.

When I think of God’s promise that he will never fail us or abandon us, I think of how Bob and Linda have loved kids that others thought were unlovable. Those kids can now rest easy, knowing that their new parents will never abandon them.

TODAY’S RX

Even when we are unlovely and unwanted, God adopts us into his family and calls us his children.

Thank you for adopting me into your family, Lord, and for showing me unconditional love. Help me to model your kindness and compassion to those who are lost and hurting.