February 6th, 2023
Written by Kyle Sherrell
Every time that I come across this quote, it always stops me in my tracks. The quote reads, “While it costs us a lot to adopt children, it cost God the Blood of His own Son.“ Writing this as an adopted child, and having been told the lengths and struggles my parents went through to adopt me, I am fairly certain that the above quote is not solely speaking about finances when it talks about the “cost” of adoption.
In my own family’s case, it wasn’t just financial, although that did play a huge role in the story. There was also an emotional cost that my parents went through as well. Examples of a few “costs” and factors that go into choosing adoption can include wanting to have children and not being able to have biological children, deciding not to become foster parents as it would be too emotionally hard to have to detach from the children placed in their care, and making their whole lives public due to the questioning and researching requirements that adoption agencies have for matching children with the right parents (which is a great but a very emotionally taxing thing)! Thankfully, my parents never wavered from this cost. Their desire to have children, through adoption if biological children was not in God’s ultimate plan, outweighed any cost, factor, and emotional toil that came their way.
I was three days old when my parents were finally able to see me in person for the very first time. They tell me now that on that day they were excited, emotional, nervous, and scared all at the same time. As I’ve grown up and am now an adult on my own, their love for me has never diminished or shrank. If anything, it has grown. That’s not to say that we have never argued, fought, cried, or just had very bad days. Of course we have, we are all human! Have we gone days without speaking? Unfortunately, yes. Do I have the same stubborn streak that my mother has and wait for her to call me first, only for me to break under the pressure and end up calling her first instead? Absolutely. Like any family, we have our ups and downs, but I have never questioned their love for me. As exasperated as I have made them at times, I know without a doubt that they love me more than anyone else on this earth does. And vice versa. Besides Jesus.
Towards Mother’s Day, I always tell my mom that her story reminds me of Hannah’s story when we talk about adoption and my own personal adoption story. Hannah prayed and longed to be a mother for so long, but it did not happen in her timing. God made her wait, but eventually answered the prayer of her heart with Samuel.
My mom knew that she wanted to have children as soon as she married my dad, but it did not happen in her timing either. As Romans 8:28 promises us, God will and does work all things for our good! I don’t know about you, but I am thankful to know that the verse in Romans 8:28 applies even, and especially, to heartaches and heartbreaks.
While still in the adoption and waiting process, my parents wrote a letter, per the adoption agency, to my biological mother, and she chose them out of six other potential adoptive parent candidates. The reason? My biological mother wanted to make sure that her son was raised in a loving, Christian household and environment. I like to think of that as being a pure example of God’s perfect timing in my life and for my family. Also, it is not lost on me that I was very fortunate and blessed to be raised in church and learn about who Jesus is at a very young age.
I do not take that lightly and consider it an honor and privilege that God knew what He was doing, as He always does, and used the letter my parents wrote and their love for Jesus shining through it for my biological parents to unequivocally choose them as my adoptive parents, thus answering the desires of their hearts, just as He did for Hannah. In His perfect timing.
As wonderful as that is, it is the second half of the quote mentioned earlier that makes me stop in my tracks. Because, as much as I know in my heart that my parents love me, it has always been difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that God loves me infinitely more. Do you struggle to comprehend that too? The fact that He loves us enough to send His one and only Son to pay the price for our sin, not His, is a love like no other and is almost unheard of. The Bible tells us that the consequence of sin is death, and Jesus fulfilled that in place of every single person who has ever been born, and is yet to be born.
Think about that for a second. That’s not just referring to Christians, or people who love and believe in Him. It also includes those considered to be the sinner, the outcast, the orphan, the widow, the drug addict, the people we love, the people we don’t like. Sound familiar? Want to know who that describes and includes? Everyone. What kind of love is that? Definitely the purest kind of love, and a love like no other. The type of love that Jesus went to the cross on Calvary for, so we wouldn’t have to. A love that I am grateful for, and the type of love that I want to show and exhibit.
One of my favorite songs that I have on repeat right now is His Name is Jesus. The part of the song that speaks to me the most says:
There’s never been a love so great,
He died so we could live.
Then He rose up from that grave.
Name another King like this.
Wow! That helps put into perspective the love He has for us. He loved us enough to die for us, but it did not stop there at the grave. He rose and His love conquered death! Because of this, we can spend eternity with Him in Heaven! What a love that is! Only the love of Jesus.
Friend, I don’t know about you, but I want to live for Someone who loves me enough to die for me. Don’t you? To think that He went to Calvary’s cross knowing that I may choose to not love Him, and that did not deter Him, is a kind of love that I still don’t understand, but am so very grateful for. I may not be married or a parent yet, (much to my mother’s disapproval), but I am praying and trying to work towards being the type of person who loves people like Jesus does. Do I struggle and fail with that? Yes, daily. But thankfully, we have the promise that His mercies are new every morning, and His love never leaves or fails us. He is always faithful to catch us when we stumble and confess our sins to Him. I hope to continue to chase after Him, learn more about Him everyday, and live for Him because He loved me, you, and everyone in the entire world enough to die for us. He truly died so that we could live, and there’s never been a love greater than that. Are you as thankful for that as I am?
Every time that I come across this quote, it always stops me in my tracks. The quote reads, “While it costs us a lot to adopt children, it cost God the Blood of His own Son.“ Writing this as an adopted child, and having been told the lengths and struggles my parents went through to adopt me, I am fairly certain that the above quote is not solely speaking about finances when it talks about the “cost” of adoption.
In my own family’s case, it wasn’t just financial, although that did play a huge role in the story. There was also an emotional cost that my parents went through as well. Examples of a few “costs” and factors that go into choosing adoption can include wanting to have children and not being able to have biological children, deciding not to become foster parents as it would be too emotionally hard to have to detach from the children placed in their care, and making their whole lives public due to the questioning and researching requirements that adoption agencies have for matching children with the right parents (which is a great but a very emotionally taxing thing)! Thankfully, my parents never wavered from this cost. Their desire to have children, through adoption if biological children was not in God’s ultimate plan, outweighed any cost, factor, and emotional toil that came their way.
I was three days old when my parents were finally able to see me in person for the very first time. They tell me now that on that day they were excited, emotional, nervous, and scared all at the same time. As I’ve grown up and am now an adult on my own, their love for me has never diminished or shrank. If anything, it has grown. That’s not to say that we have never argued, fought, cried, or just had very bad days. Of course we have, we are all human! Have we gone days without speaking? Unfortunately, yes. Do I have the same stubborn streak that my mother has and wait for her to call me first, only for me to break under the pressure and end up calling her first instead? Absolutely. Like any family, we have our ups and downs, but I have never questioned their love for me. As exasperated as I have made them at times, I know without a doubt that they love me more than anyone else on this earth does. And vice versa. Besides Jesus.
Towards Mother’s Day, I always tell my mom that her story reminds me of Hannah’s story when we talk about adoption and my own personal adoption story. Hannah prayed and longed to be a mother for so long, but it did not happen in her timing. God made her wait, but eventually answered the prayer of her heart with Samuel.
My mom knew that she wanted to have children as soon as she married my dad, but it did not happen in her timing either. As Romans 8:28 promises us, God will and does work all things for our good! I don’t know about you, but I am thankful to know that the verse in Romans 8:28 applies even, and especially, to heartaches and heartbreaks.
While still in the adoption and waiting process, my parents wrote a letter, per the adoption agency, to my biological mother, and she chose them out of six other potential adoptive parent candidates. The reason? My biological mother wanted to make sure that her son was raised in a loving, Christian household and environment. I like to think of that as being a pure example of God’s perfect timing in my life and for my family. Also, it is not lost on me that I was very fortunate and blessed to be raised in church and learn about who Jesus is at a very young age.
I do not take that lightly and consider it an honor and privilege that God knew what He was doing, as He always does, and used the letter my parents wrote and their love for Jesus shining through it for my biological parents to unequivocally choose them as my adoptive parents, thus answering the desires of their hearts, just as He did for Hannah. In His perfect timing.
As wonderful as that is, it is the second half of the quote mentioned earlier that makes me stop in my tracks. Because, as much as I know in my heart that my parents love me, it has always been difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that God loves me infinitely more. Do you struggle to comprehend that too? The fact that He loves us enough to send His one and only Son to pay the price for our sin, not His, is a love like no other and is almost unheard of. The Bible tells us that the consequence of sin is death, and Jesus fulfilled that in place of every single person who has ever been born, and is yet to be born.
Think about that for a second. That’s not just referring to Christians, or people who love and believe in Him. It also includes those considered to be the sinner, the outcast, the orphan, the widow, the drug addict, the people we love, the people we don’t like. Sound familiar? Want to know who that describes and includes? Everyone. What kind of love is that? Definitely the purest kind of love, and a love like no other. The type of love that Jesus went to the cross on Calvary for, so we wouldn’t have to. A love that I am grateful for, and the type of love that I want to show and exhibit.
One of my favorite songs that I have on repeat right now is His Name is Jesus. The part of the song that speaks to me the most says:
There’s never been a love so great,
He died so we could live.
Then He rose up from that grave.
Name another King like this.
Wow! That helps put into perspective the love He has for us. He loved us enough to die for us, but it did not stop there at the grave. He rose and His love conquered death! Because of this, we can spend eternity with Him in Heaven! What a love that is! Only the love of Jesus.
Friend, I don’t know about you, but I want to live for Someone who loves me enough to die for me. Don’t you? To think that He went to Calvary’s cross knowing that I may choose to not love Him, and that did not deter Him, is a kind of love that I still don’t understand, but am so very grateful for. I may not be married or a parent yet, (much to my mother’s disapproval), but I am praying and trying to work towards being the type of person who loves people like Jesus does. Do I struggle and fail with that? Yes, daily. But thankfully, we have the promise that His mercies are new every morning, and His love never leaves or fails us. He is always faithful to catch us when we stumble and confess our sins to Him. I hope to continue to chase after Him, learn more about Him everyday, and live for Him because He loved me, you, and everyone in the entire world enough to die for us. He truly died so that we could live, and there’s never been a love greater than that. Are you as thankful for that as I am?
3 Comments
thank you Kyle for a touching word.
Kyle this is a great read. It witnessed to me like no other. Awesome read. I love you brother(nephew)
This is an excellent post and very heart felt. It so made me stop and think. We are Totally blessed by his unconditional Love.