Blind Sided

This weekend Hubby and I went out on our very first date since bringing our sweet peas home. I won't lie. I was like a giddy little school girl. We went to one of our favorite restaurants and to a movie called Blind Side. We have been waiting for its release and it was well worth the wait. It was a phenomenal movie. But I was amazed at how blindsided I was by the movie.

There are a lot of emotions inside of me that run very deep when it comes to adoption. Sometimes these emotions overwhelm me at unexpected times. Seeing the movie Blind Side was one of those unexpected moments. I was overwhelmed with the reality of how blessed I am to have my Hubby and two kids. There is such a fine line between a child found and a child lost forever. My husband could have been one of those permanently lost in the foster care system. He could have aged out without anyone in his life to call family, without a home to go home to. My heart breaks at the enormity of children who age out of the “system.” If they are not close to their foster family or have lost their birth family, where do they go? Whose Thanksgiving table do they sit at? Have they been given any family traditions to cherish? How do they feel when they see families who are close and living in a healthy loving environment?

What if Isaac and Jocelyn hadn’t been taken to a missionary to find them a home? What if their lives in the sea of orphans were not deemed valuable? What if they had been older when their parents died? Would they have been left to raise themselves on the streets of Addis? Would they have lived? Would they have ever known a life outside of hunger and primitive survival? Would they have ever known the love of a family?

Would have my Hubby or my children ever known the love of a family? No…no they would not have if it wasn’t for someone deeming their lives to be worthy of love. In Blind Side a family who had never considered expanding their family found themselves changed forever…changed by the decision to have a homeless child sleep on their couch for one night. This family could not escape the fact that this young man was worthy of love. It was undeniable. His life was torn, broken and filled with moments that would make anyone question whether they were worthy of love. They didn’t have to take this young man in. They didn’t have to make a difference in his life. None of us have to make a difference in an orphaned child’s life. We can easily live out our lives without ever doing anything. But before you continue on with your life, can I ask you a question? Is an orphan worthy of love? Is the child lost in the foster care system longing for someone to care for them and to have some stability…is that child worthy of love? Is the child living in an orphanage longing for someone to call Mommy and Daddy…is that child worthy of love? If they are worthy of love, what are you going to do about it?