A hope for things unseen

Through adoption God is teaching me about faith and hope.

When we made the decision to pursue adoption, to find a child in China to bring into our home and make him part of our family, a hope was born into our hearts.

In many ways this hope was hard to understand. We had no idea of what this child would look like. We did no know where he lived. We had no understanding of why he was orphaned. We didn’t even know if he had been born yet.

But the origin of our hope was very different than many of the hopes that we experience. It cannot be compared to the hope we have when watching our favorite football team play. It is unlike the hope experienced as we begin unwrapping a Christmas present. It is drastically different from the hope one might have after buying a lottery ticket.

The closest idea I can compare it to is the hope that we have in Christ.

It is a hope given birth by love.

I have told some that adoption is like pregnancy, just without the nausea. But it could also be said that pregnancy is like adoption, just without a definitive timeline.

Once pregnancy is confirmed, a due date is set. The countdown begins. And though the child is unseen as well, it will be in nine months, one way or another.

With adoption we keep waiting and hoping, uncertain of when our fullness of joy will come.

Without the tangible, without any sort of guarantee, doubt can fill our hearts. It hard to wait with only hope.

photo by iStockphoto

The writer of the book of Hebrews helps us to understand what faith and hope are.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)

Despite the mountain of paperwork, the expenses, and the exhaustion, our efforts are not dissuaded. We do not grow weary. Our anticipation is unfettered.

And even though these doubts weigh heavy on us at time, we still have hope.

Our hope is alive within us because of the object of our hope. Our child.

This hope gives birth to faith. We believe that the adoption will happen. The day will come. We will be matched. We will travel to China. We will hold him in our arms and he will fit perfectly in our embrace. Made for that special place in our family and in our hearts.

Faith that is fueled by our love for this little boy.

And so it is with God. We have high hopes. That God will come and get us and bring us into his family and make us his children.

And our faith is born out of this hope, a hope that is fueled by the perfect love of our Father.