As we pulled out of our driveway one morning, our lights again caught the stray deer in our neighborhood. We have caught this creature foraging for fruit, flowers, and about anything else that might seem tasty.

I am not an expert on deer. I do not hunt them. Any time I get near them in a car, they seem to freeze like the proverbial “deer in the headlights.” I have passed my share of dead ones struck by semis on the freeway. Their skin tends to hide them in wooded habitats. However, they usually run away fast if they think that they are in danger. Deer look for sources of water like the creeks that run through our subdivision.

Deer are characteristically protective and nurturing of their fawns. In the same way, we seek to protect our adopted children from crises that they will face, and help them as they encounter challenges in their own lives. They tend to travel in families and groups, but occasionally you see one by itself.

When I think about all the challenges of adoption, I recognize that God’s plan is to make us more dependent on Him. We realize our limited resources, and run to Him as the only One able to meet our needs, just like the deer searches for streams of water (Psalm 42:1). God did not make a deer to survive without fresh water any more than He made us to exist without His continual replenishment. That is why Jesus said that He provided “living water” (John 4:10, 7:38). Many times, we were at the end of our rope dealing with our children, and needed wisdom (and encouragement) from above for the journey ahead. God provided the needed help as we turned toward Him.

That is even more true for the times that we (and our children) were scared. Adoption was a new for them as well, and they struggled with making good choices relating to us. There were times when we all wanted to run (from each other or from situations), rather that rest in the knowledge that God called us to something much bigger than ourselves. We longed to provide our children with the reassurance that they were safe as part of our family even when they did not feel that this was true.

How have you noticed that your experience of adopting is like being “a deer in the headlights”? Where is the first place you turn when you run into difficulty? Please comment in the box below and share your thoughts.