The Adoption Jar

Two summers ago, my husband was working on a film project that required him to be an hour away in the city for a period of time. Because of the long hours, he was staying in a hotel there and invited us to come be with him for a couple of nights. Our children had never stayed in a hotel...especially not one with a dining room, kitchen, two bathrooms and two bedrooms! We spent the day at the zoo or other tourist attraction, met with Daddy for dinner, had a great time at night in our "apartment" and just had a ball. It was so much fun, the kids decided we should do it every year.

In order to save the money to pay for our own hotel, admission and food, they created "The Trip Jar". It sits on our counter all year and any money the kids want to donate to it is accumulated to fund the trip.

Not an hour after the kids learned we wanted to adopt Ruslan and Nastiya, the jar label was changed. This is what it looks like now. Every penny means more to them now than it ever had before. They realize that if they save their money for something they think they want or spend it on things that have no lasting value, we are that further away from being able to bring their new siblings home. Not only that, they are willing to give up something they really enjoy and look forward to for something that they realize is of more lasting joy and impact.

Their example reminds me of Christ's admonishment: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:19-21).

Our first donation

This week Marsh was able to take Ruslan and our older children to California for a family wedding. When the family met him, they loved him. The cousins rallied to earn as much money as they could to help support the adoption. A roadside lemonade stand brought in $38.68 in 45 minutes. Go kids!

A Matter of Resources

After this experience with Ruslan, I will never look at money the same way again. The reality that there are children out there who have all the love and potential he does, changes the reality of what money can do. It is frustrating to think that a lack of funds will keep people from helping these children because of the expense of it all, but that is also a reality.

I believe we will answer for the choices we make concerning our resources. Nothing we have is our own, no matter how hard we think we worked for it. It all belongs to the Lord and He is the One who has chosen whether or not we have been successful in our efforts to obtain it. I recently heard of women whose wedding budgets were between $30,000 and $75,000. Really?! How can we waste our resources in these selfish ways when there are so many people in need, so many children who need families? Where much is given, much is required.

We have been given so much: a home, a wonderful family, incredibly loving children, the gospel of Jesus Christ, food to eat, clothes to wear and every other need taken care of. How could we not do whatever we can to share these blessings?