As an adoption advocate that loves talking about adoption, I often hear all the reasons why someone thinks they just can’t adopt.
The truth is that 38% of practicing Christians have seriously considered adoption but only 5% have adopted. Any idea why?
The most common reasons are…
1. It’s too expensive
One complaint I hear time and time gain is that adoption is just too expensive. Well, I’m here to tell you folks…in many cases you are correct that it is not a cheap process, mainly for good reasons, but to use the cost as an excuse not to move forward when adoption is on your heart is not a legit reason.
If we had let that stop us, we would never have adopted…twice. It was absolutely within reach once we looked into the options. The amount we had to pay out of pocket was minimal. This was a good thing because we didn’t have much.
If money is a hindering block for you, I highly suggest looking at the other articles on my site about affording adoption, like this one. There are so many options! You can absolutely overcome this obstacle if you really want to.
2. The process is too intimidating
Adoption can be intimidating. Many prospective adoptive families are concerned they need to be perfect to adopt. I can promise you- if that was true, we would have never ever adopted. Not only are we not perfect… I’m just going to be real here…we have our fair share of issues. I mean we’re in our 40’s and we still have so much to figure out. Or. Maybe we never will and that’s OK. God’s grace covers us. Thank goodness!
One area that I think many families stress about, speaking from experience, is the home study. If the social worker did a white glove test when they came for any of our home study visits, we would have failed. If we needed to have a big beautiful put together home we would have failed. Can you say 800 sq ft fixer upper? And, that is not an exaggeration!
You do not have to have the perfect white picket fence home. (No, this isn’t our house đ )
It does not matter if you rent or own.
It does not matter if your house is small or large.
It does not matter is you’re a minimalist (But…YAY for minimalism! Did I mention our family of 4 lives in 800 sq. feet?)
…or a tiny bit of a hoarder.
That is not what it’s about.
The home study is not in any way a process of looking for perfection.
3. There is too much paperwork
Another common concern is… ALL. THE. PAPERWORK.
I am not going to sugar coat this. Adoption involves A LOT of paperwork. It really does!
But, so does buying a house…and a lot of other things. But, guess what. It’s worth it! And, adoption is worth it on a whole different level than anything else. We’re talking about a person versus a thing.
And, you can choose to keep the paperwork from becoming overwhelming by just taking it one step at a time. You can only fill out one form at a time so just start on the first thing, then move to the next. You don’t need to do it all at once.
You can’t do it all at once. And, that’s OK!
There are so many more reasons someone can find to not adopt. But, when the reasons TO adopt start to outweigh the reasons NOT TO you know you’re embarking on a very exciting adventure!
Very exciting! And, so worthwhile!
Please know that there are so many people, including myself, that were once where you are. And, we discovered that is was worth it. So worth it!
Don’t let what seems like obstacles keep you from pursuing something that is much more within reach than you might even be able to imagine.
I hope you find encouragement in this and the other content on my site. I’m praying for you in your journey!
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