We breathed a sigh of relief when the adoption court proceeding was over. We were finally adoptive parents! We had the impression that once our sons were part of our family, the hard part was over. Actually, we discovered that this was only the beginning. It was to be a marathon.

Paul the apostle must have been a sports enthusiast. He draws from several sports analogies in his letters to the churches. He wrote to the Corinthian church and reminded them of the comparison between the Christian life and a marathon race. He reminded them that those who competed in these events were “all in” when it came to preparation and execution (1 Corinthians 9:24-25). The author of Hebrews also compared the Christian life to a marathon race (Hebrews 12:1).

As we saw the needs of our sons, we began to make adjustments to help them. I found it particularly challenging not being able to communicate with them in their mother tongue, and they couldn’t understand me when I talked to them in English. We learned to overcome this with hand gestures and hugs. We wanted them to know that they were ours, and that we truly loved them.

All of this appeared to be a dress rehearsal for the real race until the night came when one of our sons opened up and told his brother, “You know we can’t go back to the orphanage!” Startled to hear him say it in our presence, we redoubled our efforts see life from their eyes. Bicycle rides and hikes helped us bond. Meeting other Christian families with children their age showed how it was possible for a real family to come together.

There were tears along the way, too. We can be sure that Esther (Hadassah) shed a lot of tears in the home of her uncle Mordecai, for example. Like a real marathon, we kept pressing on through the pain and fatigue of the race with our goal in view. The January day when one son fell on the ice on our neighborhood pond and came indoors holding a dangling arm (which turned out to be a fracture) helped them understand that we were truly concerned with their welfare. We rushed him to the hospital and tenderly cared for his many needs.

All of this would never have happened if we were not willing to endure the marathon of helping our sons put the pieces of their lives back together. Twenty years later, we affirm it was one of the best decisions of our lives. Similarly, God doesn’t just adopt us as His children so that we will have eternal life; instead, He wants us to walk with Him throughout our entire life, both present and future.

So here is an acronym to help you remember the value of adoption:

M Making

A  Adoption

R  Real

A  All the time

T  Through

H Heeding

O Opportunities and

N  Needs

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