"I HAVE A DREAM.....that little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." Martin Luther King, Jr August 28th, 1963 Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
I'm ashamed to say that in the years past MLK Day was just another day. It was a day that I didn't have to go to school or work. This year it has taken on a whole new meaning.
In the near future John and I will bring home a baby from Ethiopia. We will be two white parents raising and loving a black baby. I personally see nothing wrong with that. I can't even imagine our life without an Ethiopian baby as part of our family. BUT there are people in our lives that have questioned our decision. There are people who can't comprehend international adoption.
It's in those moments when people make rude or ignorant comments (or pretend like the adoption isn't even happening) that I realize there is still a lot of prejudice in our world.
I would be naive to think we won't encounter any criticism when we bring our baby home. I know that people will stare and ask stupid questions. I know that not everyone will support our decision, however, this is what God has called us to do. I pray that I will always be able to handle the negativity with grace. That I will extend the same mercy towards the people who criticize that God would chose to extend.
When we think of our child, we don't see the color of their skin. We see a child that God chose for our family long before the creation of the world.
I really liked what Kelly over at Ordinary Hero had to say in her blog post this morning...I wanted to share:
"What a wonderful time in history to be able to bring my son home from Africa, his native homeland, and show him the true meaning of America. My prayer is that he will live in a nation that lives up to every one of the dreams that Martin Luther King fought so hard for. That he "will not be judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character", like MLK so nicely put it.
The simple fact is that we all bleed RED....blacks and whites alike. It is that life blood that so many have given for freedom in this country. They have given their lives as seeds that will not return void. Many of those lives that were taken sacrificially and many of those that were taken unjustly will see justice come to pass in the sight of America at last. We are then left with the task ahead and that is to live it. Live it like never before. Become and remain sisters and brothers like God intended."
You should also check out what Josh Bottomly had to say about this day. He wrote a great blog post about MLK Day. Check it out here.
"What a wonderful time in history to be able to bring my son home from Africa, his native homeland, and show him the true meaning of America. My prayer is that he will live in a nation that lives up to every one of the dreams that Martin Luther King fought so hard for. That he "will not be judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character", like MLK so nicely put it.
The simple fact is that we all bleed RED....blacks and whites alike. It is that life blood that so many have given for freedom in this country. They have given their lives as seeds that will not return void. Many of those lives that were taken sacrificially and many of those that were taken unjustly will see justice come to pass in the sight of America at last. We are then left with the task ahead and that is to live it. Live it like never before. Become and remain sisters and brothers like God intended."
You should also check out what Josh Bottomly had to say about this day. He wrote a great blog post about MLK Day. Check it out here.
I wondered about this as well when we brought Eli back. Maybe even more so since we already had our *white daughter.* But I must say we've really had very few negative reactions, at least not verbal ones. And honestly I share that he is adopted all the time. I want people to know, because I if there is anything I can say that might encourage someone else to adopt, I want to make sure I say it.
ReplyDeleteI love what you wrote Jennifer, good job. And I love reading your posts because they sound similar to our lives...having some negativity and misunderstanding about international adoption, it's nice to know we aren't the only ones although I wished we all had 100% support from everyone too :)
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