Are you babysitting?

Since our family has expanded to four little ones, two of which are black and three of which are pretty close in age, a common comment or question has surfaced when I am out with the kids by myself and even once with another friend and her two kids: "Are you babysitting?"  "Those are not ALL yours?"  "Do you have a daycare?"  I know that for many families that have adopted children, that question can be a little offensive because from our perspective these precious little ones are of course ours and just because they do not look like us or have our same skin color or whatever else, does not mean that a little one is any less a part of our family than a biological child.  Many people take offense that people would right off the bat presume something other than the reality of these kids that look a little different than mom and dad being part of a loving  adoptive family.  The reasons that many would be dissapointed are many but I find that most often I am glad when people comment or ask me.  Many people have never given adoption much of a thought and many cannot fathom making a "choice" to love, as opposed to the common assumption that people love their kids because they are part of them.  When people ask me about my kids, whether its from curiosity, ignorance or whatever, it opens the door for me to talk about God!  God is the one that gave us the example of being adopted into the body of Christ, God is the one that enables us to share the love of Christ with anyone, including children that were once orphans.  God is the one that gave Tim and I a desire to expand our family in a way that reflects what He has done for us.  God has put our family together as He has seen fit and when people ask me about the interesting mix of children that are always with me, it reminds me of His love and gives me a possible opportunity to talk about the gospel.  So, if I was keeping a list of some of the great things about adoption, I would have to add, "It can provide many opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ."