Walser Adoption Adventures

Maybe we ARE crazy. Walsers are not known for taking the path of least resistance. Things are perfectly fine the way they are, and one could argue we’ve got enough on our plate as it is. And yet we have chosen this path anyway. We had decided to adopt a child from Ethiopia. Why? I’ll explain the best I can.

A few years ago, Joe and I could not shake the feeling that God was asking more from us than we were willing to give. We felt that we had committed to serving him with our lives, and had been doing so by serving in full time ministry. Ministry has its perks, but it is not an easy road nor is it a money-making scheme. But we had carved out a pretty comfortable and secure life in a place we enjoyed surrounded by people we enjoyed, and we were doing what we enjoyed.

None of that was bad in and of itself. But we both knew that the life we had was one we had orchestrated to be how we wanted it to be, with little room for risk. So we decided to step out and risk it all—plant a church in a state we had never lived in with three friends in tow. So there were five of us. And we knew almost no one. We left our home, our friends, our paycheck…behind. It’s been scary at times and there are still days we don’t know how it will all play out. But there is no doubt in our minds that God called us here.

And He called us here not just for the church, although He does want us to give our lives away for it. And not just for the lost, although we seek daily to be used to reach them. But also for US--for His process in us, our dependence on Him and our daily dying to ourselves.

Which brings me to this decision we have made. It is amazing to me how easy it is for me to slip back into a routine and life where I am comfortable and isolated. It’s like in Isaiah 58 when God says “On the day of fasting, you do as YOU please…” (vs. 3). On the surface, I am offering my sacrifice, but it is still on MY terms and when it is convenient for me. But I do not want to live that way.

I want a life full of risks. I want to live and love with abandon. I want to live like I believe the gospel is true. In fact, I want my life and the decisions I make to only make sense in light of faith. In other words, that I MUST believe in something unseen, some future hope, some invisible kingdom. If my life can be dismissed, my decisions explained by any other reason, then I have failed to be the light and salt I am called to be.

For years, Joe and I have both said we were open to adoption if God ever called us to do so. As John Piper says, adoption is the heart of the gospel and the clearest picture of what God has done for us. And it had become clear to us in the last few weeks, that He is calling our family to be a living example through adoption…so we are obeying.

You may have many questions about the whens and whys and hows of our decision (as do we! : ) ), and I hope to answer some of those with my postings on this blog. (If you have a specific question, feel free to post as a comment.) I invite you to subscribe to email updates in the link to the right, bookmark it, follow it however works best for you---and keep up with us as we embark on this journey.

For now, watch this brief video as John Piper talks about adoption as God’s plan from the beginning…and be encouraged. And please pray for us. We’d be grateful.

(Note: To silence music so you can hear video, scroll down to pink playlist and hit pause button.)