A Second Start

A Second Start

          Have you ever been in a relay race? The idea of the game is that teams race against each other through an obstacle course. A teammate will hang on to a baton as he races through the course and passes it to the next teammate. The first team that has all of its players race through the course with the baton wins.  Second chance adoption is much like a relay race. An adopted child is like the baton. Sometimes a child does not fit in his first family that adopts him. He has to be passed to the next family in order to finish the course God has for him. Second chance adoption is beneficial to the adopted child.

          Adoption is to be a permanent placement. So why give up?   The adopted child may have more special needs than what had been explained through paperwork. The struggles of trying to care for this child who has an undiagnosed disorder can show that this family is inadequate to care for him long term. Second chance adoption provides another family that is more prepared and capable to raise and love this child.   

          Does this transition cause so much confusion in the child’s life that he will not be able to attach to his second family?  This is possible in some cases when the child is more aware of his circumstances. Most often though, adopted children have RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) which causes them to not attach to the first family that has adopted him. It has been studied that children who are readopted have a greater chance of attaching to his second family. The agency for Second Chance Adoption has a 90% success rate with readopting children.

          Here is an example of how God uses Second Chance Adoption to help one of his precious children. A cute boy from China, at the age of four years old was available for adoption. For most of his life he was flat on his back in a crib. The family who decided to adopt him, only knew that he had a heart defect. When they met him in China, they could tell that there was more to it than just his medical needs. They had 24 hours to decide, and of course, they had to say yes. They returned to the States, and after a couple of surgeries he was a healthy boy again. They had genetic testing done too. They found out that he had Smith- Magenis Syndrome (SMS). This disorder involves aggression, developmental disabilities, and speech delay.

           Over time it became more and more obvious that is was unhealthy for him to stay. God began impressing on their hearts it was time for them to pass the baton. The family obeyed and applied to Second Chance Adoption Agency.  God provided a family through this agency to be the forever family for him. He now thrives in his new home. This boy is my brother, Luke. I had to say good-bye, but with God’s help I did what was right for him.

          Second Chance Adoption blesses the readopted child with a better fit family to love and raise him. The success rate for this child to attach to his new family is very high. Giving him a second chance in another family is very beneficial for him physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  His attachment to his forever family encourages him to know and follow Jesus Christ. “¹⁴ But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14

            

 

                                                          Kay         11-30-15