We love because he first loved us.

~1 John 4:19 NIV

I grew up with a family, but I didn’t grow up in a family.

The term, “family” had little meaning to me. Yes, there was a man, a woman, and children in the house, and I may have called them Mom and Dad, but our family wasn’t what it was supposed to be. A family has love in it. I took notice at a young age of how other families lived, communicated, and interacted. It was obvious my family lacked all those things I witnessed.

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I found out I had been adopted. How so? My adoption notice came from the Bible.

~Sandra Stein, contributing author to Love Knots: Stories of Faith, Family, and Friendships

Secretly, I wanted to be adopted into my parent’s friend’s family because of the love I saw them give their children. My family had the opposite of love—violence, abuse, and hatred. But despite everything, my heart still ached to be in a real family.

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I found out I had been adopted. How so? My adoption notice came from the Bible, and it said,

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

~Ephesians 1:5 NLT

With my newfound adoption, I experienced true love, the kind only my Heavenly Father can give. With my newfound realization that Father God loved me, I in turn could love others. This brought me to desire a child of my own and have what I knew a family is supposed to be.

Today, I have a family of my own where the love of God abounds in measures far beyond what I thought I could realize as a child growing up in an abusive home. Those days are over and gone, and replaced with the godly values I’ve found in the Bible.  The Bible is the guidance I use to gain the knowledge to raise my children in security, acceptance, morals and values, and most of all—love.

A Bible verse that gives me assurance is found in Romans. Paul pens,

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

~Romans 8:15 NKJV

I grew up in bondage; but truly I am God’s child. I call Him “Abba,” which is an endearing New Testament (Aramaic) term used for “Father.” Father God loves me even more than the loving family I secretly wanted to be adopted into. I am grateful He showed me this truth. It is the same for you, friend. No matter what situation you grew up in, you have a Heavenly Father who loves you. Permit Him to show you the depth, height, and width of His abundant love.

Friend, even before I met Him, He loved me, and He loves you as much as He loves me. To God, each of us are His favorite child. He loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven to prepare a place for us. Father God hears the cries of His children, as He heard mine. He is here for you right now. God loves YOU!

Share your salvation story—for it is an adoption story worthy to be penned.

Heavenly Father, thank You for all your blessings to me and my family. Thank You for bringing me into Your own family. Thank You for the love You show each of your children every day. Thank You that I am Your child whom You love.

In Jesus’s Name, Amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2020: My Adoption: Author Sandra Stein: All Rights Reserved

Meet Our Contributor

SANDRA STEIN

Sandra Stein is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More, and a contributing author to Love Knots: Stories of Faith, Family, and Friendships (VineWords Publishing).

She is published at Vista Magazine (Wesleyan Publishing) and Victory in Grace Magazine. She is a contributing author to the devotionals, Take My Heart O God and Heaven Calling (Zondervan).

Sandra’s work-in-progress is a victim-to-victory true story entitled, Emotionally Uphill. Having been subject to abuse both inside and outside of her home, Sandra felt she had no safe place—that is, until she met Jesus Christ, the Lover of her soul. This book intends to help the reader overcome trauma as Sandra did, by clinging to the One who loves with an everlasting and divine love—Jesus Christ.

Sandra’s heart’s desire is to open a ranch to people who have been bullied or abused, to provide them a place to belong. She envisions emotional and spiritual healings happening through the gentle interaction animals can provide. With her experience as a dog trainer and with horses, she has a vision for combining her love of animals with her passion to help people.

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