Recently, Emily and I started praying about going back on the adoption list with our agency. We decided it was definitely time to start planning, fundraising, and seeking God’s wisdom. So far, God has blessed us with two beautiful girls who have been a joy and kept us busy these last two years.
And, since we already have two girls, my lovely wife has asked if we wanted to ask for a boy this time around. I decided to be all spiritual and say, “Let’s let God decide – boy or girl it’ll be up to him.” Yes, a statement like that does indeed halt most open communication, so I’ve had to retract it so we could truly discuss the matter.
Now, most couples discuss having boys or girls. Lots of guys want the little boy to carry on the family name and his love of <insert sport name here>. But, I’m not like that right now. And, most couples don’t discuss it with any real expectation that their child will be one gender or the other – but adoption does have that complication. As adoptive parents, we can indeed ask for a boy or girl. It may extend the wait for their new child, but for many, that’s ok.
The reason my wife and I have thought about having adopting a little boy has centered around the desire to raise a godly young man to impact his culture. We’ve seen how God has brought children of different ethnicities into our lives, so we expect it’ll happen like that again. We know that especially in some african-american communities, there’s a great need for strong male leadership in the families (see the recent issue of Ebony and their article about Fathers), so we want to play a role in helping that growing problem.
But ultimately, we’ll probably leave the decision up to God, because we know that whatever he wants for us – whether a boy or girl – will be his best. We just pray that whatever gender our next child is, they will grow in their understanding of our amazing God everyday. And that they will truly impact this world for God’s good!
