Questions!

Today is Dr. Suess' birthday. And besides writing some pretty fabulous children's book, Ted Geisel also unleashed a few remarkable quotes on the world. The insightfulness behind his statements conveys to me a legacy of wisdom that is rare these days.

One of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes is “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” And this quote comes to mind many times when people ask questions about adoption. Or our adoptions in particular.

Why adoption?

Why international adoption?

Why Ethiopia?

How can you afford adoption?

Isn't one adoption enough?

How did you choose boy or girl, baby or waiting child?

And then there are even deeper questions that people have asked;

Why are you adopting a different race? (and this question is usually phrased differently)

Why aren't you adopting from the United States?

How is Gabe going to feel with a sibling? A black sibling?

What will people think about your family?

And the questions go on and on. Most of the questions are well-meaning, coming from people that love and care for us. And most of the time I take the time to answer the questions in well thought out and patient manner.

But really, the answer to all the questions could be the same answer. No matter how you ask it or how you phrase it, the core root of each question has the same answer.

And the answer is God.

Matt and I wanted a family but also wanted to follow God's will. And for us, that was adoption. Gabriel's adoption is an open, domestic adoption; not because we chose it but because that's how God arranged it. We didn't choose Ethiopia, a boy or a girl or an age for our next child. God opened doors for us, closed doors for us and led us to place He wanted us to be.

From a person who thrives on control and evaluates and re-evaluates every option, I've had no qualms about going where God is leading us in this adoption. Each seeming mis-step leads to exactly where we're supposed to be.

While each question about adoption is multi-faceted and could have a million word answer, each question really has one answer, the same answer, the easiest answer: God.

And while the questions are complex and the answer seemingly easy, the path to get where we're going will be challenging. Challenging but oh so worth it!