MESSAGE DELIVERED TO “HEAVEN SENT ORGANIZATION” AN ASSOCIATION OF ADOPTERS OF ABANDONED, NEGLECTED CHILDREN
A story is told of a poor woodcutter who lived contentedly in a little house at the edge of the forest. He supported his family by chopping down trees. But no matter how tired he was, he and his family always ended the day with laughing and singing.
Every evening the king passed by his cottage. It annoyed the king that ordinary working people could be so happy . So one day he sent his messenger down to the woodcutter to tell him the king has given orders that by tomorrow morning he must have fifty bags of saw dust ready, if the woodcutter couldn’t deliver he and his family would be executed.
The woodcutter confiding to his wife said “It’s an impossible order.” But his wife kept up his good spirits and told him not to worry about it. His wife said “We have all had such a good life together so tonight we shall again sing and be joyful. That is the way we have lived and that is the way we should die”, the wife said.
So they had the biggest party and after everyone had gone off to sleep the woodcutter and his wife stayed up talking until sunrise. “Soon it will be over”, commented the woodcutter. “Don’t’ worry it’s better to die in peace and contentment than to live a life of fear and sorrow”, said the wife.
Just then there was a knock at the door and the woodcutter let in the expected messenger from the king. The messenger slowly and sadly entered the house and told the woodcutter, “ You have to cut twelve hard wood planks for a coffin. The king died last night.”
What is the lesson of the story? The wicked king intended to destroy a happy family. He did not succeed.
The home is the oldest institution known to man. Society is composed of families. The family is the heart of the community, of the church, and of the nation. It is the basic social institution. God sanctioned marriage, recognizing it as an institution which He Himself had established. He ordained that men and women should be united in holy wedlock, to rear families whose members, may be united to Himself. We have a God given responsibility to nurture our families. The home is designed to be a blessing to mankind. And it is a blessing wherever the marriage covenant is entered into intelligently, in the fear of God. The wellbeing of society, the success and prosperity of the nation depend upon the kind of homes that we have. If the home is strong, society is strong. The breakdown of the home over the past half century is well documented. One of the most important things that we can do for our country and our community in particular is to establish and maintain a Christian home.
Most of us should be thankful that we have been born and raised in functional families. Families are here to provide homes and to train us in the art of living together. Families are here to provide care, love, and support for children. Our homes should be strengthened and guarded against the sinister forces of evil that seek to destroy family relationships.
The home is designed to be a blessing to mankind. And it is a blessing wherever the marriage covenant is entered into intelligently, in the fear of God. The wellbeing of society, the success and prosperity of the nation depend upon the kind of homes that we have. If the home is strong, society is strong. The breakdown of the home over the past half century is well documented.
And to you adopting parents, your home is truly God’s blessing to these helpless children who could not have possibly survived because they have been abandoned, neglected, rejected , unloved and abused. You are important to the lives of these children. These children are equally blessed to have you as caring and loving parents. If you shower them with love, tempered by right discipline they will turn out to be mature, successful and productive adults whom you can be proud of some day.
If children are left to themselves, without any instruction, they will not naturally develop such obedience to their parents. As parents you are their first teachers. They need to be taught obedience, respect, and proper manners. They need to be encouraged, loved and cared for. And it is the responsibility of parents to do these things. Parents should love and nurture their children. If it is hard to be a parent to one’s own biological children, it is even more challenging to be an adopting parent.
Parents have considerable power to negatively shape a child's life by making him or her feel rejected. By giving these children the parental love, they could not have, they will become normal well adjusted adults shaped by their child experiences. Rejection would leave them wounded for life. Feelings of distrust would always follow them. On the other hand, acceptance and love, discipline and instruction, would make them grow as mature individuals to be useful and productive citizens some day.
It is also important to guard our children from the evil influences of the world. As children grow a parent’s role changes, but the responsibility to care remains the same. Loving, training, admonishing and encouraging our children is a continuing parental concern.
It has been said that the best parents not only give life to their children, they also teach them how to live.
As adopting father or mother or adopting father and mother, you are to take your parenting role seriously. These children are God’s precious gifts whose lives are entrusted to your care. You have given these children hope and a future. May your home be a happy and wonderful place God intended it to be for every member of your family.
Let me close by quoting from a writer whose name escapes me. She wrote: “One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of car you rode in, what kind of house you lived in, how much money you saved, nor what clothes you wore. But the world will be a little better because you were important in the life of a child.”
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