A child taken from our arms, an apology letter to a birth mom on the other side of the world, an overwhelming call to love the fatherless, 9 processes in 10 years and a journey that has changed our family’s life forever.

 

Hello friends and welcome to the Love Where You Are podcast! My name is Somer Colbert and I am so excited to share this special episode with you today as I welcome the listeners of Christian Parenting to the show!

 

While I typically host discussions on various topics to encourage growth and spiritually healthy families, today is a much more personal topic. It’s my story. The story of what God used to wreck me so that He could use me. It’s the story of how He chose to grow our family and our faith through adoption.

 

But it’s also the story of how He used difficulty and challenging circumstances to reveal His heart and calling in my life.

 

We all face difficulty and we all have a choice in how we respond - do we lean in to God or do we walk away? Do we seek Him for the growth He is producing through trials or do we stay complacent and give up.

 

Adoption nearly wrecked me - until God redeemed the broken parts of my story and changed my heart. He is ready to redeem the difficult parts of your story too. Join me today as I share the ups and downs and lessons God has taught me along the way!

 

Connect with Somer on Facebook, Instagram and check out her articles on adoption at somercolbert.com and Hope in Grief!

 

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FAVORITE TAKEAWAYS:

• When you choose to love a child, that never goes away.
• God used something so difficult in our lives and He turned it into ministry.
• The problem was my attitude, my mindset and my approach to my circumstances.
• I believe now more than ever that the Church needs to step into caring for vulnerable kids in crisis and meet a need by modeling.
• God’s perfect love for us and what healthy families and relationships look like.
• We can’t care for the orphans, the fatherless and the vulnerable if we are distracted and consumed by the things of this world.
• Foster care and adoption are an opportunity to step in and partner with the Lord to heal and take back ground the enemy has stolen.
• We as Christian parents are called to incorporate the things of God in every aspect of our lives.

 

5 Lessons I Learned: 

1. We are called to be stewards of every child we are given, whether biological or through foster care, adoption, provisional or respite. 
2. It’s not about fulfilling a want, it’s about meeting a need. 
3. It is God who creates and builds families
4. Parenting is less about changing a child’s behavior and more about changing our response to a child’s behavior. 
5. God uses difficult seasons and challenges in our lives to mold us to be more like him as He writes a beautiful story for the purpose of showing His love and goodness to others 

 

Genesis 2 and 3

 

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

 

James 1:27

• “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”

 

New Mercies by Paul David Tripp

“In grace He leads you where you didn’t plan to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own.” ~ Tripp

 

Our stories are all different but our mission is the same: Love God, love others and share Jesus right where you are!