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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

try to keep an open mind...

i have been thinking about something for a while now.
i just wanted to share it to possibly challenge your thinking.


ok.
there seems to be a sort of "fad" that is going around. 
i like to look at different people's blogs from time to time.
there is something that i have seen on so so many blogs...
adoption.
now, i know that some of you probably just started to feel a little defensive, and that is not what i wanted.
i am not exactly sure that fad is the proper word choice,
but there are literally hundreds of blogs devoted to different families who are going through the process of adopting. 
typically, it is international, but not completely.


before i go any further, and lose some of my readers who might be passionate about adoption, let me say this.
i have a heart for orphans.  
i really do.
i spent a little bit of time volunteering at a girls home.


i remember one night sitting on the Mansion Lawn at liberty university.
i was talking to God and asking Him what He wanted me to do with my life.
i felt like God was telling me to care for orphans. 
it wasn't audible, 
but it was strong.
in my mind, i was thinking that i wanted to open a home for boys.
(funny, since this was before i had 2 boys of my own!)
maybe this sounds weird...
and i don't really know why i am blurting out my feelings here to just anyone 


but anyways...time has passed, and i still think that we will adopt.
strongly.
me and adam have already begun the process we need to be foster parents
after going to the dominican republic one summer, and haiti the next...seeing the need...my heart just longed even more to be able to adopt.


so that is my background. 
now back to what i was saying...


without doing perfect research, i would say close to 80% of these blogs have one verse posted somewhere on their page.
can you guess what it is?


james 1:27.


do you know what the verse says?
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


here is my point.
all of these blogs are using THIS verse to say that God commands us as christians to care for orphans, to look after them, to adopt them.


i have seen shirts, hats, bags, key rings...all with this verse on them.


here is my question.
what are you doing for the widow?


this verse is clearly saying that we need to look after orphans.
i am not debating this.
but in literally the same sentence we are told to look after widows in distress.
i mean, read the verse!
"look after orphans and widows..."
it's like the same breath.
the same command
the. same.


so i searched.
i searched for blogs that had anything to do with widows.
i found...none.
i didn't see little fund-raisers on the side asking for help to relieve my widow.
i didn't see shirts made up with how many widows there are in the world
(there are about 142 million orphans by the way. and i still don't know how many widows.)
in fact the 6th result down in my google search for how many widows there are was for WINDOW replacements!!!


while i am certainly not against the idea of adoption becoming a fad
i just think that we need to be true to the whole Bible.
not just the parts that make for cute pictures in a blog, great stories that can touch your heart, and hundreds of followers of your blog.
am i making sense?


maybe God would be calling us to care for widows!


if you are one that takes this verse as a command,
please take the entire verse as a command.




just some food for thought.
and i hope i didn't get anyone mad at me in the process!


and by the way...i have 2 beautiful sister-in-laws, 3 precious cousins, (just to name a few) who i love, thanks to adoption.
i am definitely for adoption!













6 comments:

  1. No Rachelle, I have thought the same thing. We have talked about how we are NOT doing what we need to do to care for widows at our church. I think older people get seriously overlooked and their needs unfortunately go un-met sometimes.

    I don't really have an answer, I just have thought the same thing. And the reason I believe these 2 specific types of people are mentioned is b/c they do not have the protection they need. (A wife her husband and a child their parents....) that is why the church is to be their protection and look after them.

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  2. My blog is about adoption.
    But I've always thought the same about taking care of the widow.
    We are called to do both. It's not that hard.
    Thanks for making people think.

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  3. great thoughts! and verse!
    love you! and i always love reading your blog. please make a book from all your awesome, thought provoking and challenging posts. thanks.
    :)

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  4. I think there are more people doing things for widows than you think. They just don't blog about it because it is something that comes naturally to them. Our church has people go and help take care of their houses and cars. Christian Schools allow children of widows to attend tuition-free. Our church has a great "shut-in" program. Families are being more aware of their parents as they get older. When Grampy and Gram came to live with us we were 31 and 32. Young. And there was NO ONE in our circle who did what we did. A sweet blessing for us, but it completely changed the dynamic of our family. And, we had no one to ask for advice in our gang. Today it is becoming more common place.

    I think blogging is a way of sharing your journey. And i don't think adoption is a fad, but rather people are becoming more vocal about their experience. They have a soapbox to be able to share the blessing and encourage others that this is something they can do too.

    Bottom line ... there is always more we could and should be doing. Perhaps you should open a forum for people to post ideas of things that others can do to encourage widows.

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  5. I REALLY appreciate this post ... and I'm an adoptive mom.

    I have a blog ... but it is NOT an "adoption blog". Occasionally, the topic of adoption comes up, but that is NOT the focus of my blog ... nor the ministry focus of our family. We chose to adopt. We have 2 daughters from Ghana. But, neither of those things define our family.

    I get frustrated with many blogs that push and push and push that EVERYONE needs to be doing something about the orphans. They use this verse as if it is the only verse in the Bible that really counts.

    While you read the verse and saw the neglected widow, I have read the verse and wondered if these families are also following the command to "keep oneself from being polluted by the world". THAT is much more my passion, than adoption. THAT is one of the primary focuses of my parenting and my ministry ... we do NOT need to be like the world, we need to be different (and unpolluted by the world's thoughts, agendas, values, entertainment, etc...)

    Keep writing. Keep sharing your heart. I LOVE to hear your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and passions.

    Hope your Christmas is BLESSED!

    Laurel :)

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  6. I actually did some research on that verse too because I thought about that same aspect...I found that a "widow" had to truely qualify as a widow in order for the church to support financially and completely bear her load if her husband were to die, perhaps even leaving behind small children...IF She needed help in all aspects...I think we technically think of a widow as a sweet ol granny, but it was actually the active serving widow in the local church...Now of course we'd be foolish to limit our witness to only widows in our local church...We can be a testimony by helping meet the needs of widows in their time of "DISTRESS"...key word "Distress"...Woman losing her home, can't provide food or medical for her children etc...We can step up and HELP HER!! If my husband died, my church would be responsible to meet any needs my immediate family couldn't meet...

    I could go on and on...But you should wrestle with this a bit more so you know how to answer that, I know how you feel cause that's why I researched that verse out...Although I am not passionate in that area, I would fully encourage, support and pray for those who are...Thanks for being honest an open on this!

    ReplyDelete

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