trendy baby

A lot of moms hate them, but I think they are brilliant. Animal-shaped rubber bands. Silly Bandz are the "Why-didn't-I-think-of-that?" product of 2010. It's an idea so simple and so universally appealing, it couldn't help but storm every middle school in America.

Blame the kid in me, but when I see these things peeled off my kids' wrists at the end of the day, I'm still sort of amazed that they pop back into neon pink llamas or glow blue ducks. They spend all day stretched into a million functions, but at night they hold the shape of their original form. It's a trend that I can get excited about.

If you've had more than a few discussions about adoption, you've probably encountered people who call it a trend. That's a strange term for the Divine interweaving of a family. As an adoptive parent, it feels a little demeaning, even. However, I can see why people make that assumption.

There is a huge push toward adoption in the Christian community right now. Conferences, radio programs, websites, and books are encouraging families to take the leap, and families are listening. I haven't checked the stats, but the growth seems exponential.

As potential adoptive families have the chance to watch their friends go for it, a vague idea becomes reality before their eyes. As a result, fear and uncertainty wanes. Courage rises with familiarity.

Our family had been praying about adoption for about four years when we encountered an amazing kid from South America on JD's soccer team. That was six years ago. Knowing him pushed us forward some more, and we asked friends to start praying for our decision. Watching my brother and his wife adopt my niece a few years later gave us a chance to experience adoptive love firsthand. Suddenly, this wasn't just something other families did, it was something our family had done. As we felt the time was ripe, the embrace and guidance of local adoptive families shepherded the first wobbly steps of our journey. They have also become our brothers and sisters, holding up our arms when they were tired or scared. Each of these encounters has propelled us forward in our pursuit.

I don't have my eschatology nailed down to a science yet, but if we are truly winding toward the end of many things, a surge of energy for adoption seems to make an awful lot of sense. Go into all nations. Make disciples. Teach them to observe the commands of Christ.

Adoptive parents go into all nations. They make disciples. They teach them to observe the commands of Christ. Shouldn't we have been doing that for the past two thousand years? I think so.

What if a major part of fulfilling the final stages of the Great Commission involves the Father powerfully stirring up masses of His people to make sons and daughters from the uttermost ends of the earth? How beautiful to share the adoptive Fatherhood of God through the adoptive fatherhood of flesh.

Not only are families and children blessed beyond words, but the nationals who see this love are shown a physical manifestation of the gospel. I was an orphan. But I was made a son. This has not gone unnoticed. As one overseas observer commented, "These Christians. They love the children no one here would ever want. There's something different about them."

A fad? The term is too trite. But if it's a trend, it's brilliant. It's the "Why-didn't-I-think-of-that" mission of 2010 and beyond.
Christians en masse, stretching into the shape of loving new families, but retaining shape of their Father. I didn't understand any of this at the beginning, I just fell in love with a little boy halfway around the world. But if this is what's happening big picture, sign me up.