It was a normal Saturday morning, and time to do the laundry again, especially since there were stains on some of the clothing. Into the washer the dirty clothes went! Afterwards, I was happy to see what water and a little soap could do!

We struggled in the early years of our adoption. It was an uncharted course full of bumps and falls. I wondered if the mistakes I made could be corrected, and our sons seemed to test our love and commitment to them on every level. The attempts we made to make things work often backfired. It was as if we were constantly confronted with the stains of our own inadequacies. No matter how hard we tried, our sons continued to doubt the permanence of our love for them.

What I failed to realize in those years was that God was using our love for our sons (in spite of our failures) as the soap to clean them (and us) and bring us to a point where we could proudly say that we were a family. It took several years to reach this point. Just as God fully forgave us from our sins when we repented and came to Him, so adoption was the means by which our sons came to know and love God and become righteous before Him. When that happened, it was if the stains of the past were completely removed!

We knew that this had happened when our sons chose to start reading and studying the Bible on their own. They had professed their faith in God, but there had not been fruit of this in their lives. But God was not through with them (or us) as we soaked in the water of His cleansing. The best part is that when the past was completely cleansed, no evidence of it was left. God had given us the gift of His perfect cleansing.

What about the past do you long to see rectified in your own life or in the life of your adopted child? God is able to make all things new as you cling to Him. Please feel free to comment on this blog in the space below.