Day 219 of 365 Days of Being Thankful
Today I am thankful that Olivia and Olya, as well as all former orphans, were adopted. Dan and I were fortunate to become their parents but their lives would have been so sad if no one adopted them. I am so thankful that my daughters are so loved by our families. Ukraine has gotten stricter with adoptions and they have also grown in foster care families. I don't know if that is a positive or negative thing. I think it is a good thing for children to stay in their own country if at all possible. Many foster children never feel that they truly belong and are equal to other children in a home. I run a Facebook group for older adoptive moms. Some of the moms have adopted many children domestically and internationally. They are all so kind and supportive of each other.
Someone shared this photo on social media. It is a little child in Iran who drew a picture of a mother on the floor of her orphanage and fell asleep on top of the picture. She even took her tiny shoes off. Who could imagine one of our children feeling like this? It is estimated that 153 million children worldwide are orphans.
Wars and epidemics like AIDS have created a huge orphan population. Poverty has also created many orphans. Both of my girls were from poor families. My girls were in decent orphanages with nice caretakers but they were still motherless in every sense of the word. They owned nothing and there was no advocate looking out for them My girls were only 9 and 10 when they were adopted so they had no idea what the world held for them in their futures. A parent's love is something that money can't buy.
No child chooses to be an orphan. None of us can solve the orphan crisis but we can all do something to help. Our church sponsors an orphanage in Haiti as well as is very supportive of adoptive families. I met Deb G, one of my favorite people, in an adoption community online. I met my friend Joni because she was a reference from my Home Study Agency. My sister is also an adoptive mom, she adopted a little girl from Romania about 28 year ago. Until you visit an orphanage and see all the children, you just can't understand how sad their lives are. Many turn to prostitution and drugs when they age out of the orphanage. A very small fortunate few go to college or trade schools.
She is such a good friend and I am so thankful that she is in my life! We see the world through the same view finder!
I am also so thankful that I had lunch with my friend Helen today! I was so excited to see her. Helen offered to visit me in the hospital, that is a real friend! I really appreciated it. We had so much fun talking and catching up!
Someone shared this photo on social media. It is a little child in Iran who drew a picture of a mother on the floor of her orphanage and fell asleep on top of the picture. She even took her tiny shoes off. Who could imagine one of our children feeling like this? It is estimated that 153 million children worldwide are orphans.
No child chooses to be an orphan. None of us can solve the orphan crisis but we can all do something to help. Our church sponsors an orphanage in Haiti as well as is very supportive of adoptive families. I met Deb G, one of my favorite people, in an adoption community online. I met my friend Joni because she was a reference from my Home Study Agency. My sister is also an adoptive mom, she adopted a little girl from Romania about 28 year ago. Until you visit an orphanage and see all the children, you just can't understand how sad their lives are. Many turn to prostitution and drugs when they age out of the orphanage. A very small fortunate few go to college or trade schools.
I am also thankful that my bestie Priscilla got me a brace for under my knee to help with my sciatica! I have it on now. I was so touched!
I am also so thankful that I had lunch with my friend Helen today! I was so excited to see her. Helen offered to visit me in the hospital, that is a real friend! I really appreciated it. We had so much fun talking and catching up!
Comments
Post a Comment