Today is my youngest sister’s second “Adoption Day”! Aren’t anniversaries like this the best? Because it’s National Adoption Month right now, Orphan Sunday was two weeks ago and World Adoption Day was last Sunday, it’s been hard to not think about adoption. Similarly, it’s been hard not to think about my sweet sisters.

I still remember my first trip to China, over twelve years ago –wow! When my parents allowed me to travel with them to meet my sister for the first time. It changed my life. It changed all of our lives. Adoption is life-changing for all parties involved, but I think that parents too often worry about the impact it will have on the other children in the family, the siblings.

Today I want to give you five things (five good things!) that kids will learn when their parents adopt:

1. We learn that we do not live in the only important country in the world
2. We learn how to be big siblings, not because we just ended up in our age-spot in the family, but because we now have a new role and responsibility.
3. The Bible makes more sense, and one day deeper theology will strike us through when we begin to wrap our minds around the vertical Adoption that happened to us!
4. Another language is no longer something mysterious; it’s real and useful and important.
5. Whether we like it (at first) or not, we realize that by simply living and loving we can influence others.

I would be lying if I said that it was always easy and painless for all. It’s not, it’s hard and messy even for the brothers and sisters, but the lessons that we learn are really priceless.

I’m sure that you have heard many different reactions to announcing to the littles that they’re about to gain a sibling (we’ve had our share: YAY! Why? Fine, you can adopt her. No no no no no no no. *bawl* Do we have to? Only one?).

What was the most memorable?