Parenting Faithfulness

ADOPTION: YOU CAN DO IT! A Husband-Wife Date-Study for Successfully Raising Adopted Children in the Christian Home is a product of more than 5 years of planning and writing, 13 years of raising 5 adopted children, nearly 30 of marriage, and 58 years of being a life-long Christian.  I pray it will celebrate Christian family life and encourage many adoptive families.

A new benchmark of adoption success was set for our family this past week.  My oldest adopted son graduated from Marine Bootcamp. He not only survived every mental, physical, and spiritual trial, but he thrived!  Yesterday, as he and I spent the day together touring the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, we discussed a variety of relevant subjects of interest to both him and me.  His entire demeanor was that of a Marine; he was no longer the traumatized child who came to my home at the age of 7.  He was honorable, courageous, and committed.  He proved himself a confident gentleman as he looked me in the eye when we spoke, held doors open for me, and even paid for my lunch!  Wow, God is so good!  Gone were the issues that once existed in our lives as adopted son and adoptive mother.  No tantrums, no shut-downs, no disrespect, no hurt, no anger, no shame, no rebellion…the list goes on and on.  Instead, my fifth born son is now one of the few, the proud, the Marines.  A member of the greatest fighting force in the world; a leader; a man of high moral character and expert ability.

All those bleak years of wondering what catastrophe would rear its ugly head next, sleepless nights of worry and prayer for gargantuan issues or constant frustrations, and angry tirades that sucked our whole family down into a bottomless pit of despair are now as vapor – vanished.

I survived the hurricane force storms of being an adoptive parent, and can now confidently encourage other parents that they, too, can do it!  We Christian parents must never, ever give up on any of our children, including the very challenging ones who came to our family through adoption. Though we ourselves are very challenging, God never gives up on us – we are adopted into His family, for eternity.

By God’s grace and miraculous power, my children and I are thriving, joyful, and at peace.  My late husband would be bursting his western shirt snap buttons with pride at how we are carrying on his legacy of unconditional love through our faith in Jesus Christ.  As the Marine motto “Semper Fidelis” reminds us, we parents must remain ‘always faithful’ raising our children for the Lord’s honor and glory.  We can fully and forever trust in God’s goodness and blessing because He is ‘always faithful’ towards us and our children.

I hope you were encouraged as you read this post, and will check-out my blog every Friday afternoon as I begin to share excerpts from my new book.  Next week’s post will include the chapter titles so you can see what my book is all about.

Don’t hesitate to email me if you need encouragement or practical strategies for raising your adopted, biological or step children.  I have been there, done that, and am still doing it, successfully, Lord willing!

Blessings in Christ,

Shari H. McMinn                                                                                                               [email protected]