Yes, No, or Will Consider

You never know how many judgments and biases you have until you start filling out your adoption paperwork. Then you have to face yourself and make a choice: Yes, No or Will Consider.

 I’ve been asking myself some hard questions and I have been ashamed about what I’ve discovered about myself in the process.

When contemplating whether I would accept a child exposed to drugs and alcohol I thought: What kind of person continues to drink, smoke and do drugs while pregnant?

And the list continued:

Adoption is not for the faint of heart.  But neither is parenting. So we are praying that God will only give us what we can handle and the wisdom to navigate the paperwork required of us right now.

Nothing in life is easy. But the gift of a child is always worth it. As I go through the roller coaster of emotions during this paperwork process I am reminded of our infertility journey and how I later saw it as a blessing.


I feel the same way about the adoption process…or at least I know I will.  I’ve started praying for the future birth-mother of our child-to-be.  Whatever I am feeling must pale in comparison to her journey and it helps me to focus on this when I am frustrated by the red-tape and mountainous requirements placed upon adoptive parents. 

Oh and I’m finding humor in my need to have another battery of STD and Aids tests.  As a requirement for IVF treatments we were previously required to complete many of these tests  and I’m sure my medical records show more (negative, thank-you very much) STD tests than a working girl in Reno.