OUR FAMILY INCLUDES both children born to us and adopted children who came to us at older ages. Each of our adopted children had experienced deprivations or abuse, in some cases so severe that there was little expectation for them to grow up to lead healthy, normal lives. Many times, as my husband and I have raised these children, we've realized that it was our responsibility to reject those predictions and to see all children as God's children, subject only to His law of love that redeems and regenerates. Sometimes things looked hopeless. Yet each time I turned to God, the children progressed.
One of our sons came from a childhood marked by physical and sexual abuse that most of us could not even imagine. For over seven years, he had struggled simply to survive. When he came into the care of the social service agency, they could not find an adoptive family. The prognosis was too grim: this child had been so damaged that there was no hope of his bonding, or knowing love, no hope of success. By all accounts, his future had been predetermined.
Already parents to six children, my husband and I were not seeking to expand our family. But when we received a call asking us if we would adopt this little boy, we agreed, trusting in the power of God's love to heal. I leaned on this statement from Science and Health: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." Science and Health, p.494.
