that couple?

It might be prideful, but it's true...I've often wondered what people would say about me at my funeral.

We all have our bumper sticker passions. One of the things I hope I'm remembered for is being institutionally wild about adoption.

Aaron and I want to be that couple..the ones who are constantly talking about adoption, reminding the church about the orphan, and encouraging God's people to imitate His heart when it comes to loving children who are fatherless.

The weird thing is, this post isn't about adoption. This post is going to be about missions. Ya feelin' it? No? Okay...

You see, I hope we are that annoying couple who gently asks hard questions of the church about the orphan and about adoption. It's not always a fun job, but I believe it is a God-handed assignment in our lives. We can't take credit for this passion. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, God intervened abruptly in our lives and changed us. We weren't asking Him to do that, He just did it. Because we could crank babies out at record speeds, there was a time when we could have cared less about adoption or the orphan. We were totally oblivious. We'd never considered God's heart for the orphan and for adoption. This love for adoption is straight from God, and so I pray we faithfully live it out as unto the Lord. How gracious God is to stupid people like us.

We want God to give us the faith and the grace to ask hard questions like, "Knowing God's heart for adoption in scripture, and that He commands us to care for the orphan, shouldn't every Christian couple at least consider whether or not they should adopt?"

Maybe not everyone is called to adopt. That's fine. We laugh at how quickly people throw that back in our faces.

But I'm just going to say...

With over 500,000 orphans in Haiti ALONE would it be too crazy to wonder if more people should be adopting?

We don't think asking that question is crazy. What we think is crazy is how many children will die today of preventable diseases...lots and lots of those children are orphans. Thousands of children will spend the first few years of their lives inside a baby bed with very little human interaction. They are hungry. They are covered with scabies. Couple those sobering truths with the fact that very few Christian couples have considered whether or not God wants to use them to intervene, to be His representative, to live out a picture of the gospel as adoptive parents, playing a part in restoring something terribly broken....and we may have a serious issue.

We may have issues. Can we in the least admit that? Maybe the issue is our hard hearts. Maybe the issue is that the church as a whole is not talking about adoption enough. Let's not get defensive. Let's just admit that there are a whole lot of orphans out there being neglected and a whole lot of us doing nothing to care for them in their distress. Let's quit defending ourselves and simply admit...crap. There's a lot of orphans. There are a lot of Christian families. This discrepancy is a problem.

As with anything God commands us to do, since He's good, we can be assured that saying "no" or "I'll pass" to something God wants for us means we are being robbed of something beautiful. A blessing. Life. Knowing Jesus better.

So...we believe that God has asked us to be that couple about adoption. We hurt for the church. How can we not? The entire Bible is one huge adoption story. How we long for others to live out God's heart when it comes to changing the direction of someone's life forever and setting the fatherless in the lap of a father. We also have a Hudson. Adoption brought us the sweetest gift ever. We can't help but wish others could have a Hudson too. We also know that God continues to ask us those questions..."There's more orphans, Hendricks. There's more money in your bank at the end of the month. There's more room in your house. Want to know me better? Want to live for what really matters?"

We need God to grow our faith and help us to trust Him.

But I said this post wasn't about adoption...

It's not.

This post is about missions. It's about our hypocrisy.

Just gonna shoot straight here:

Because I love adoption so much, and I truly believe God does, there are times when my passion turns to frustration. I'm a jerk in my heart sometimes. I'm immature. I rant. Not usually on here, but the people around me unfortunately get an ear full of stuff like this...."Why Lord? Why won't people consider adoption? How Lord? How can they read your word, hear your heart for adoption and the orphan and then not even consider adoption?"

"How can we read your Word, God and hear what you have to say about the orphan and then not assume we should adopt, unless told otherwise?"

Knowing what we know about God's adoption of us, and His heart for the orphan, shouldn't adopting/fostering be our default in the church? Shouldn't we assume we should do those things until the Lord shows us consistently and clearly that we shouldn't?

Those are our honest thoughts as a couple.

And yet how hypocritical of us.

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Go. Go make disciples of all the nations.

We've asked..."How God? How can people hear your heart about the orphan and then not be burdened to action? It seems so straightforward. Very clear. So how can we ignore you?"

We're asking ourselves those same questions about going.

God said to go.

"But not everyone is called to go, Heather."

Let's all take a step back and have a good laugh at how quickly we all jump to the "but not everyone" argument.

I've used that excuse a bunch of times. I like America. I like hot showers, Cheetos and air conditioning. (the real cheetos...the hard ones. not those poofy ones. gag.)

I'm simply admitting to you that even though God says to go...even though that's exactly what HE did...came here, God with us, left heaven (a much better place than the USA, gasp!) to come here to this wretched place and serve us, teach us and bring us the good news, we as a couple have never asked God if we should go.

Did you hear what I just said?

Even though God's Word could not be clearer that we're supposed to go, we've never asked God if we should go. I'm guilty of reading God's Word like there are a lot of asterisks in it.

"Go and make disciples of all nations*..."
*this does not apply to everyone. just some people. especially not you, Heather."

I wish that's what the Bible says. It doesn't.

We thought we were that* couple, but instead, we're that** couple.

*the annoying, won't-knock-it-off-about-adoption couple.

**the annoying, won't consider that Jesus was probably talking to us, couple.

"Do you want us to go, God?"

That's what we're asking....for the first time in our lives.