Do you remember hoping for a family when you were at the orphanage?

My daughter looked up at me, over her waffles and answered, “Yes. I remember sitting on the bed, looking out the window at the stars and wishing for a family. I was hoping that I would have a mom and a dad and a family who would love me and take care of me.”

The heaviness of what my daughter had gone through in her early years hit me again and tears filled my vision as I looked at her and said, “and we did come, didn’t we?”

“Yep!”

We talked about my job at the adoption agency and how we were working to help families bring more orphans home to be sons and daughters. We talked about the other kids who are now sitting on their beds at night, looking out the window into the night sky, hoping and waiting like my daughter once was.

This is real life.

My daughter’s memory is not a scene from a movie. She experienced the longing for a family, the same longing every child has, to grow up in a safe and loving family. Thankfully, our daughter was in a very caring and stable orphanage who had enough resources to provide the children with enough food, clean clothes, and some preschool education. We are so thankful for the care she received there! But no institution can provide what a loving family can give.

Let’s remember the children waiting in orphanages around the world this week.

When we’re waiting in lines running errands.

When we’re waiting for something we’re hoping will happen.

When we’re waiting on someone.

Remember there’s a child waiting too… in an orphanage, for a family.

“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” – David Platt.

If you would like to join us in finding families interested in adopting, you can help! Share this post!