A family that we know adopted 3 little girls a few years back.  The girls are now preschoolers.  They have a younger sibling who has recently come to no longer live with their biological mother. The safety and permanence of the child’s current living situation is unknown to me at this time and to my friend the last I heard (this is intentionally vague to protect anonymity).  I overheard our friend, the adoptive father, telling another friend about the situation.  She asked him if they could and would take the 4th child in if needed, to which he replied, “Sure!”

Wait, a second.  Now, I know several families who have adopted and fostered children so this response, while not exactly what I expected, was not at all surprising to me, especially because of how I know the adoptive father.  But after I thought about it for awhile, I realized that there is really a lot behind that answer.  “Sure” we will take in a 4th adoptive child to go with our other 3 preschool adoptive children and 2 teenage biological children in a house that we already had to expand to fit the 3 little girls in there.  “Sure” we’ll take in this small child that has probably not been physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually nurtured in anyway close to what is appropriate.  “Sure” we will love this child and do whatever it takes to help this child heal and become a part of our family and deal with the difficult and often frustrating parenting that goes along with it.  “Sure” we will be open to the will of God for our family, even if it means we have to be uncomfortable.  “Sure.”

I am awed by the love demonstrated in that one word response: the love for a hurting child and the love for God that allows them to be open to this possibility.  Raw, real love.