USA (MNN) — November is National Adoption Month in the U.S.
It’s National Adoption Month! (Photo courtesy of Buckner International)
“I can’t think of a more transformative and redemptive idea than adoption. Adoption is a picture of the Gospel,” says Greg Eubanks of Buckner International. “Children who are strangers, who have been forgotten, who have been neglected, who many would consider the least of society, suddenly become daughters and sons.”
According to The Congressional Coalition of Adoption, 400,540 children in the U.S. do not have a permanent family. 115,000 of these are eligible for adoption; around 27,000 “age out” of the foster care system before they are adopted.
Eubanks has other significant numbers on his mind: “The example that I would give is that there are 6,400 children in Texas today who could be adopted. They have no legal family except for the government. And they desperately need a family.”
If these kids don’t have a family, then they will add to the number of individuals who “age out” of the adoptive system. When they turn 18, they will be on their own. The statistics of success for these children are not reassuring.
Buckner International helps families through the adoption process, domestically and internationally. From the very beginning, they are there to answer questions and provide training, as well as to facilitate all aspects of the adoption process when it gets underway.
“Every child that I’ve ever met, no matter how old they are, no matter their background, no matter how tough they want to appear on the outside: their deepest longing is for a family to claim them and to have a place to belong, the same way that God has claimed me and given me a place to belong,” Eubanks says.
Not everyone is called to adoption, but everyone can still support and help others who are called. Consider becoming an advocate of adoption and helping to educate those around you about what it means to welcome a child into your family. This month–National Adoption Month–is the perfect opportunity to do this.
You can also support families who are adopting. These families may be in your community or church, or you can support families through Buckner itself. For more information, click here.
And finally, everyone can be involved in praying–this month and beyond. Eubanks says it well: “My prayer would be for God to call families to step forward and be willing to provide a permanent family for the children we have in the United States who legally, right now, could be adopted.”
