Lessons From a Mother's Heart Exemplo

Have you ever faced trauma or hardship and wondered why God allowed it? My husband and I are parents to eleven children, three of whom we adopted. Four years ago, we brought home a precious brother and sister from Poland, ages seven and eight.

When we brought them home to America, there was a lot that we had to do to get them healthy. We saw countless doctors and attended many appointments. They needed shots, urine samples, stool samples, IVs, and had overnight visits in the hospital. We dealt with major dental issues and digestive problems. There were many times that we would be sitting in an appointment, and they would look at me with pain in their eyes. Tears rolled down their faces. I know they were thinking, “What is happening?”

They must have thought, “Well, we are adopted now, everything will be great. We're with this family who loves us. Life is just going to get better.” But it surely didn't seem to be getting better. Now they were looking at me thinking, “Why are you putting me through this, Mom? Why do I have to do this? This hurts!”

I couldn't speak their language, so I couldn't explain to them that everything I was doing was for their good. They didn't understand that I had plans to prosper them, bless them, give them hope, and give them a future. I couldn’t tell them; they just had to trust me.

Instead of trying to explain, I wrapped my arms around their little bodies and cried with them.

You may be thinking, “What does this have to do with me?”

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you were adopted. Sometimes—just like my kids from Poland— there's a lot you have to go through to get healthy—physically, emotionally, and definitely spiritually.

As Christians, we have this idea that when we accept the Lord and become saved, suddenly life gets better and everything is great. But that’s just not always the case. We are now in the family with a Father who loves us unconditionally, but that doesn't mean there isn't going to be pain. The problem is, we can’t just sit down with Him and have a face-to-face conversation, so it can be hard to understand why we're going through all of these things. But He wants you to know that He has plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You just have to trust Him.

I know it's hard, but when you're going through those difficult times, I just want you to envision He has wrapped His arms tightly around you and is there with you. I encourage you today to remember that and think on these things. Actually declare it and speak it. Say these words with me: “I am loved. I am adopted. I am not alone.” Consider telling somebody else, posting these words on your social media, or commenting below—whatever it takes for you to remember:

I am loved. I am adopted. I am not alone.