God is sneaky

It's no secret in Scripture that God has a heart for the orphan.  It makes logical sense that our Heavenly Father would be particularly enamored with those without an Earthly father.  He sets the lonely in families.  And He commands His people to care for the orphan.
And certainly it is out of a desire for provision and care for the orphan.  Changing orphans into sons and daughters is right up there with creating mountains and singing songs on God's "Favorite Things to Do List".
But there is more about this command to care for the orphan than meets the eye.  You see, it is not just about the orphan.  It's not just the orphan that God is changing: entire families and communities are changed.  
Every time I see Grace, I just can't help but be reminded of God's goodness.  Of the fact that most certainly God is making all things new.  That God spared her life and gave her enough fight to be able to withstand all the drugs and disease she was born into.  That He empowered Sloan to stand up to me.  That He softened my heart to submit to Sloan.  That He gave us the faith to trust Him in loving this little girl.  And now she is not only healthy, but literally bouncing off the walls with joy.
A couple of weeks ago, a woman at my church came up to me after the service in tears because she said God was using Grace and Henry's love for one another (and the way they both fight to be in their Daddy's arms during hymns) to preach the Gospel to her.
And it's not just Grace.  Because of two little boys in Ethiopia, I now desperately pray for that nation.  I pray that the bureaucratic changes in the US Embassy won't delay their homecoming.  I pray for the friends they'll leave behind in Addis Ababa and the nannies who care for them.  I pray for the people of Ethiopia.  That they would not be plagued with war and famine.  That men and women from wealthy nations would continue to serve them and more health care would be provided to them.  I pray that one day it will not be a nation with 5 million orphans. Because now the peoples of Ethiopia are my cousins.  Those orphans--my nieces and nephews.  They have my heart.
Through adoption, God is teaching me a "we" mentality.  That "those" people who don't look like me are still "my" people.  Just last night, while watching So You Think You Can Dance, I took ownership of these two African American sisters who were dancing.  I saw in them a bit of my own love for dance, my love for my sister, and also a foreshadowing of what my daughter might look like in 15 years.  And so I rooted for them as mine in a way I suspect I wouldn't have two years ago.

Oh, Jesus, you're a sneaky one.  Making us think that caring for orphans is our good deed, when really You want to change us too.  Well played, Jesus.  Well played.