Spirit of Adoption

"You should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God's very own children, adopted into his family-calling him "Father, dear Father". Romans 8:15

I have enjoyed following my friend Sherri's journey of adopting her daughter Sophie from China. Sherri has been very open about the difficulties Sophie is having transitioning from an orphan to a welcomed member in a family. She is fearful and sad, misses her nannies from the orphanage, and has been resistant to the love her new mother so desperately wants to give her. I can't help but see how this experience parallels the journey that many of us follow as we find our places as children of God.

Recently a friend and I were discussing the scripture "perfect love casts out all fear". She said she really didn't understand what that meant. There have been times that I didn't understand it either, but after many experiences directly related to needing and comprehending the love of God, I am learning. I'm learning that knowing the love of God, having experiential knowledge of the love of God, chases out the fear in your life. I don't think love and fear can cohabit. It's one or the other. The places in my life that I am fearful, I do not know God's love.

So it is with Sophie. She is afraid because she doesn't know, understand, and comprehend the fact that her new family loves her desperately and only wants what is best for her. Sherri described it perfectly "Sophie does not understand the blessings that are now in her life". She was abandoned in a Chinese hospital and doesn't yet feel comfortable in a loving American home. She forsakes her mother's welcoming embrace to sit in her stroller. Her beautiful princess room waits while she sleeps on the floor.

Spiritually and emotionally, I lived like this for a long time! Years and years of abandonment and abuse from authority resulted in an "orphan spirit" that took root in my heart. (You can learn more about the orphan spirit at http://www.shilohplace.org/). It's where you live your life like you don't have a home. It's a life of fear and independence, because you don't feel safe and "at home" in the Father's love. You don't understand that you belong to God and are welcomed into His heart. Everything in your life filters through this belief system, affecting your decisions, your relationships, your understanding of God.....

I am blessed to testify that God's love penetrated my broken heart and while I still have areas of my life that need healing, I do know the love of a Father and it is so liberating! I feel adopted. I trust His love. I know He won't hurt me. I depend on His presence and have faith that he will never abandon me. I've traded my stroller for strong fatherly embraces, and the floor for a princess bed in a heavenly castle.

I know Sophie will make it too.