Joel Littlefield

“I feel like we have babies all over the world. We just need to figure out where they are.”

That’s exactly what my beautiful wife said today during lunch.

Two things come to mind:
First – We’ll need a bigger house!
Second – Thank you, God, for such a selfless woman to do life with.

Look, we are not wealthy, we have no superpowers and we are not among the elite parents or spouses of this world. God has simply filled our hearts with His love for “the least of these”. He has given us much grace to pursue things that we cannot do in our own strength.

It has always been the pattern that when we are stretched in our faith to trust God, especially with those things that matter deeply to His Fatherly heart, He provides. Not always the way we expect it, and not always in our timing, but yes, always.

So if my wife’s statement is true, (and I believe it is) that we still have more children around this globe to adopt and love as our own some day, then I can’t wait to meet them.

Where are they right now? What is their situation, their plight, the pain and hurt of their family or nation that makes them so much more vulnerable to the evil one? I don’t know. But I can trust God’s timing, His sovereignty and His provision. I’m thankful that He calls families every day to step into the darkness and defend the weak and afraid, and He does it all before they even have a clue that someone is coming for them.

One bit I might add is that we just finalized our very first adoption last week with our four year old daughter. And maybe you think it’s a little crazy to be talking like this less than a week later. Well, let me just correct you there. We’re not just a little crazy. We’re a lot crazy. You pretty much have to be.

It was crazy for Abram to set out in pursuit of a land that God had yet to show Him.
It was crazy for Moses, a simple shepherd, to face Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and demand the freedom of Israel.
It was pretty crazy for Joshua and his army to march around Jericho’s walls and await God’s victory over their enemy.
It was crazy when David stepped onto the battlefield with only a sling and a stone to face a giant, all for the honor of the God of Israel and the salvation of His people.

For thousands of years before Christ God has called His people to faith in Him, not in their own strength, in order to bring light to the darkness in this world. Then He embarked on the craziest mission of all, to become a human and suffer and die for the salvation of a people who had rejected Him. He pursued you and me with a relentless zeal so that the darkness in our hearts due to sin and unforgiveness might be crushed, and light would dawn. Now, with faith in Jesus and how He pursued you and me, we continue His mission of rescuing, defending and loving those who remain in darkness. Be it to children in foster care, or those in orphanages around the world, kids in your very own home, the poor on the streets of your city, your own spouse or neighbor, the widow down the street, your coworker or boss, whatever the mission, it’s a little crazy to think God would use any of us.

Maybe God’s calling you to step out in faith and be a little crazy for the expansion of His Kingdom through adoption too. If so, just think where they are now and how God has a beautiful plan to connect your pursuing and relentless love with their needy and broken heart, and how with that very love God will heal and bind up a small piece of what is wrong in this world.

“I have joyfully dedicated my whole life to the object of exemplifying how much may be accomplished by prayer and faith.” George Muller