The beginning of the fall (umm, if you can call what we are currently experiencing "fall") always brings with it the start of new activities and a new school year. This year we are lucky enough to have all three of our kids at different schools - yay for me! That means three drop-offs and three pick-ups, what oh what was I thinking?! It also means three different sets of parents to introduce myself to. "Hi, I'm Rachel, (insert correct child's name here)'s mom." Add in the swimming, soccer, and karate extra-curriculars and I am swamped with new people!
Sometimes I meet new people with - gasp- no kids around. Maybe at church or on date with Jonathan. Then I get to be the other half of a couple. "Hi, I'm Rachel, Jonathan's wife." That's a good one.
On occasion I'll be promoting some sort of Orphan Care thing or other at church. This past Sunday I was running our Orphan Care/ Missions table at Welcome Back Sunday. That day I got to be Rachel the Orphan Care girl. I like that girl.
How we introduce ourselves says A LOT about who we are. Are we a mom, dad, doctor, lawyer, husband, wife, single gal or guy, minister, delinquent, phd, cpa, longhorn, aggie, what? What do we want people to know about us right away when we first meet us? Its seems to be the key information, the most important about us - I am Rachel, mom of 3, wife of 1, orphan advocate. I guess that about sums me up.
Now, how does God introduce Himself over and over and over again? Its interesting. You would think it would be something like, "I am God, MIGHTY and EVERLASTING". That's what I would do if I were God. Or maybe something like "I am God, BOW TO ME MY MINIONS." But surprisingly He doesn't use either of those. Instead, our God, who is indeed mighty and everlasting, who indeed does deserve our worship and adoration, is introduced as a defender to the vulnerable. Why? Because this is one of the main things He does in the world.He identifies with the powerless and then takes up their cause.
Psalm 68:4-5 He is a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows
Deuteronomy 10:17-18 The Lord your God defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the immigrant, giving him food and clothing.
Psalms 146:7-9 He executes justice for the oppressed gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, He lifts up those who are bowed down, He loves those who live justly.
The Lord watches over the immigrant and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.
And just who are the powerless again? That quartet of the vulnerable that we talked about earlier, the widow, orphan, poor, and alien. In modern times we can see that it expands to the refugee, the migrant, the slave, the elderly. I love this about God! He has every title there is, every name in the book, and yet He chooses to be introduced and known as the defender of the fatherless. He chooses this and we are to be like Him.
Does Jesus change this? What do you think? How do you introduce yourself to others? Let me know!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
He's my son, not a citizen
Without getting too personal on here, (not because I mind getting personal, but because I don't want to violate Simon's privacy), the American adoption process has some kinks to work out.
Now, I am whole-heartedly FOR adoption. If you ever want to talk about it, ask about it, or look at spreadsheets about it, Jonathan and I would be more than happy to meet with you. We (ok, Jonathan) kept detailed financial records all along the way that we happily share with others genuinely interested in the process, and we have many resources and connections to help families along the way.
That being said, we have been home about six months now and we are still not done with the American legal process of adopting Simon. He, of course, is our son. However he is not even considered a citizen of this country. He has a permanent resident card and received a very fancy brochure from the U.S. government on what benefits that means he can and can not receive. The brochure was very firm on making sure he knew he needs to pay taxes and that he could, in fact, join the military if he wanted to.
Seeing as though he was 5 and couldn't speak English, I let that slide at the time. However, if this process doesn't speed up and his fascination with guns doesn't subside, I might re-visit that conversation with him....
All joking aside, sometimes justice is about action and advocacy. This is one of those times. EACH is THE organization in Washington D.C. that drafts and lobbies Congress on behalf of adopted children and their families. They need every supporter they can get to let Congress know that there are people out there that care about this issue. Joining is free! I am a member and I urge you to become one as well. Please take a moment to read about the work that they do and the legislation they have drafted on their website.
Children adopted into American families, both domestic and foreign born, should be given the same rights and opportunities as those naturally born here into families. Its really hard to believe they are not. Help change that, and help make the adoption process better for everyone.
Now, I am whole-heartedly FOR adoption. If you ever want to talk about it, ask about it, or look at spreadsheets about it, Jonathan and I would be more than happy to meet with you. We (ok, Jonathan) kept detailed financial records all along the way that we happily share with others genuinely interested in the process, and we have many resources and connections to help families along the way.
That being said, we have been home about six months now and we are still not done with the American legal process of adopting Simon. He, of course, is our son. However he is not even considered a citizen of this country. He has a permanent resident card and received a very fancy brochure from the U.S. government on what benefits that means he can and can not receive. The brochure was very firm on making sure he knew he needs to pay taxes and that he could, in fact, join the military if he wanted to.
Seeing as though he was 5 and couldn't speak English, I let that slide at the time. However, if this process doesn't speed up and his fascination with guns doesn't subside, I might re-visit that conversation with him....
All joking aside, sometimes justice is about action and advocacy. This is one of those times. EACH is THE organization in Washington D.C. that drafts and lobbies Congress on behalf of adopted children and their families. They need every supporter they can get to let Congress know that there are people out there that care about this issue. Joining is free! I am a member and I urge you to become one as well. Please take a moment to read about the work that they do and the legislation they have drafted on their website.
Children adopted into American families, both domestic and foreign born, should be given the same rights and opportunities as those naturally born here into families. Its really hard to believe they are not. Help change that, and help make the adoption process better for everyone.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Why couldn't I have said that?
Words fail me all the time. They just slip right out of my head. My mind goes completely blank. I know have something to say, I just can't remember what that something is. It happens to me ALL the time, but it especially happens to me when I feel like I am being confronted about something. Does that ever happen to you?
Recently I was at a girlfriend's house with some friends, having a glass of wine and some great dessert, when we started talking about clothing stores and their source factories, and someone asked me a question about why I shop at a certain clothing store over another. So, I dove into the problem of children laboring in the cotton fields of Afghanistan. Children start picking cotton in these fields around the age of eight. They camp out in the fields for weeks at a time, with no adult supervision, obviously not being educated, while picking cotton that has been sprayed with more poisonous pesticides than any other grown product on earth from dawn until night. (Since cotton is not consumed, it can be sprayed with pesticides exponentially more than produce). At least I tried to dive into this problem. I half-hazardously stumbled through an explanation, grasping for words as my mind blanked before me.
Then I tried to explain that MANY companies KNOWINGLY use this cotton, and I would rather spend my money supporting a clothing manufacturer that KNOWINGLY DID NOT use this cotton and actively supported fair wage and fair growing processes.
Then, ACK! Someone there said something about if those fields weren't cotton fields, they would be planted with poppies and used to harvest heroin, so it was better the way it was.
And my blank mind struck again!! What I wanted to say was that NO! It wasn't an either/or situation. Afghanistan can plant cotton fields and harvest them without using child labor in slave-like conditions. They can pay fair wages to their cotton harvesters. Children there can stay AT HOME and be educated. In fact, that is what needs to happen in Afghanistan if that country is going to succeed.
But how? We, the consumers, have to demand it. Are you a stock-holder in a retail corporation? Do you know where those garments are sourced from? Demand to know. Use your buying power wisely and selectively. Sponsor a child in a country, like China, Bangladesh, Thailand, or Afghanistan where child labor is the means for family survival in many cases, so that these children have access to education and a better life.
Now, if only I could have said all that the other night!
Recently I was at a girlfriend's house with some friends, having a glass of wine and some great dessert, when we started talking about clothing stores and their source factories, and someone asked me a question about why I shop at a certain clothing store over another. So, I dove into the problem of children laboring in the cotton fields of Afghanistan. Children start picking cotton in these fields around the age of eight. They camp out in the fields for weeks at a time, with no adult supervision, obviously not being educated, while picking cotton that has been sprayed with more poisonous pesticides than any other grown product on earth from dawn until night. (Since cotton is not consumed, it can be sprayed with pesticides exponentially more than produce). At least I tried to dive into this problem. I half-hazardously stumbled through an explanation, grasping for words as my mind blanked before me.
Then I tried to explain that MANY companies KNOWINGLY use this cotton, and I would rather spend my money supporting a clothing manufacturer that KNOWINGLY DID NOT use this cotton and actively supported fair wage and fair growing processes.
Then, ACK! Someone there said something about if those fields weren't cotton fields, they would be planted with poppies and used to harvest heroin, so it was better the way it was.
And my blank mind struck again!! What I wanted to say was that NO! It wasn't an either/or situation. Afghanistan can plant cotton fields and harvest them without using child labor in slave-like conditions. They can pay fair wages to their cotton harvesters. Children there can stay AT HOME and be educated. In fact, that is what needs to happen in Afghanistan if that country is going to succeed.
But how? We, the consumers, have to demand it. Are you a stock-holder in a retail corporation? Do you know where those garments are sourced from? Demand to know. Use your buying power wisely and selectively. Sponsor a child in a country, like China, Bangladesh, Thailand, or Afghanistan where child labor is the means for family survival in many cases, so that these children have access to education and a better life.
Now, if only I could have said all that the other night!
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