The Unadopted
The Unadopted
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Ephesians 1:5
Every year, Place of Hope, a local homeless shelter, runs an adopt-a-family program during Christmas. It’s one of our favorite things to do as a family during the season: choose gifts for our adopted family off the wish lists, wrap presents, and deliver them to the shelter.
One year, I opened an e-mail with a list of yet-to-be-adopted families attached, along with a few notes from the director. I downloaded the attachment and scanned the details. There were six families still waiting, as well as several singles. One potential adoptee was a guy who said he didn’t have much contact with his family but still wanted to send them a small gift.
As I read a bit further, my heart sank.
“I have ten more single guys,” the e-mail said. “Do you want them all?”
My family had been participating in this program for a while when we found out that not everyone gets adopted. Although the directors, a kind couple we’ve worked with many times, try to give everyone a present, it usually ends up being something small, like a gift card. By and large, the unadopted people are single males in their middle years. Many are veterans; all have fallen on hard times.
When I first heard this, my heart broke a little. So now my family adopts the unadopted. If I’m being honest, it’s not as much fun. Grown men want denim jeans and Carhartt jackets, electronics and underwear, not ponies and puzzles and Thomas the Tank Engine toys. Yet when I think about the love God showed us when he adopted us into his family, I am reminded that he didn’t adopt us because he had to but because it gave him great pleasure. The heart of God is one that takes utmost pleasure in adopting everyone, including the forgotten, the misfits, the ones who recognize their need for grace and mercy. So now, when I mull over what color socks or what kind of work boots to purchase, I think to myself, I’m choosing to do this for someone else, and it is my great pleasure and honor to be able to do so.
— Today’s Act of Kindness —
Who do you know that is “unadopted” or forgotten? Do a kind act for them.
From the book
