Mothering through Adoption

God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. Psalms 68:6 NKJV

Tasha Cobbs Leonard, gospel artiste and composer of hit songs like Break Every Chain recently added a new member to her family.  Tasha who had had struggles with infertility and in vitro fertilization decided, together with her husband Kenneth, to try adoption after some years because they were convinced it was for them. They believe Asher is God’s answer to their prayer.

Before Moses was born, Pharaoh had given a decree that the baby boys were to be killed while the girls could live (Exodus 1:22). However, Moses’ mother knew that her son was no ordinary child so she thought about how she could preserve his life. She put him in a basket of bulrushes painted with asphalt and pitch and laid it by the river bank. His older sister Miriam, kept watch over him (Exodus 2: 1-4).

The Egyptian Princess went down to bathe in the water and her maidens walked by the river. When she saw the basket, she asked her maidens to fetch it for her.  And when she opened it, the baby wept (Exodus 2: 5-6). She decided to raise him as her own and through Miriam got his mother to be his nanny (Exodus 2:7-10).

Adoption is practised the world over as one of the ways in which couples can have children. It can be done informally by adopting a member of your larger biological family without any attendant legal processes. This is referred to as kinship care in some jurisdictions or countries. In the Bible Esther who was an orphan, was adopted by her cousin Mordecai who was very instructive in bringing her up (Esther 2:8).

Formal adoptions include an application to a Court in the country in which the adoption is being done and a relinquishment of parental rights by the biological parents of the child. This would usually be preceded by a matching process at the adoption agency where the history of the prospective child is matched with that of the prospective parents for a good fit.

Adoption is a viable option for families who are struggling to have a child of their own or for those who for their own reasons choose this method in order to add on to the children in their homes.

You do not have to be married, before you can adopt a child. Single adult males and females by the laws of many countries can adopt children.

God sets the solitary in families. Through this process, God places lonely children or would- be lonely children in loving homes. The statistics show that when children grow up in orphanages, they do not turn out as well rounded as their counterparts who grew up in ordinary homes. Sadly, there’s also a tendency for children raised in institutional care to give up their children to orphanages in the future.

Truly, adoption does not only erase the loneliness of the adopted child but also that of those who embrace that child into their home.

It is also possible for churches and Christian families to choose some deprived orphanages and support them. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world James 1:27.

If you live in Ghana and would want to set up a ministry in your church that would offer support to orphans and vulnerable children within your church and community, you can contact the Family Based Care Alliance for assistance.

Further, if you would  want to have more information on the legal process on adoptions in Ghana you can send an email to info@floodlightdaily.com.

You may also want to read “Choosing Life” if so click here – https://floodlightdaily.org/choosing-life/