This was the question posed to Kelly yesterday by Jessie. Not, “Why did you choose me?” Not, “Why do you bring children into your home?” But “Why did you adopt me?” And, more specifically, “Why did you take me from China and bring me to America?” This is a very poignant question when asked by a little girl on her 14th birthday whose future would have been bleak if we had not been able to finalize her adoption before yesterday. A birthday that, when viewed by adoptive families, symbolizes the end of that child’s ability to be adopted and abandons hope of leaving China for a better future.

But from Jessie’s perspective, this has been a time of sorrow and fear, balanced on occasion with laughter and joy. She saw nothing overly wrong with the life she was living. A life with few requirements or boundaries. A life of few expectations put upon her by those who were charged with her care. A life where teachers allowed her to sleep in class because they determined she was not smart enough or motivated enough to succeed. A life in an orphanage that, until Love Without Boundaries became involved, determined that she really did not need to go to school. She was, after all, an orphan. What did it matter?

So, on her 14th birthday, halfway around the world from her “home”, Jessie musters up the courage to ask why? Kelly’s answer was that she didn’t have a mom or a dad and once she was out of the orphanage, there would be no one to take care of her or to help her. As much of an answer as you can provide at this stage of the process. But as parents, we know how much deeper it goes. We adopted you, Jessie, because you are so very precious, God’s handiwork in action, a young woman with potential beyond what her environment could possibly imagine. We adopted you, Jessie, because Christ died on the cross to adopt us, and there is nothing that we wouldn’t do to provide that same opportunity to you. We adopted you, Jessie, because, to be honest, the day we saw your picture we fell deeply and forever in love with you.

And the same goes for Leah, for Riley, for Ali, for Caleb, and for Mia. Our love for each of them overpowered all the logical reasons to say “no” and gave us the courage to say “yes”. So, on those days when one of them chooses to act up or cry or cause problems, we continue to remind ourselves of where they came from, what they are going through, and what God has called us to do. As much as they will try at times to be unlovable, it will not work, because God’s love is higher and deeper and larger than anything they have gone through in their short little lives.

Cameron