November is National Adoption Month. In 1985, we celebrated our first Thanksgiving as an adoptive family. We sat at table and joined hands to give thanks for our many blessings: our cozy home, the friends who joined us, the bountiful meal before us, and most importantly, for the family that loved us. After fourteen years as a childless couple, we had become a family and discovered what it meant to love unconditionally.

We appreciated our own parents with a deeper level of understanding and gratitude. Our hearts swelled with our heartfelt commitment to parent as well as they had done. We wanted to pass on our parents’ legacy of love and were both grateful for, and humbled by the opportunity.
Adoption had infused Thanksgiving with a deeper significance for us. In addition to gratitude for tangible blessings, we’d received the gift of a child’s life to nurture.

Perhaps, you too, feel drawn to share your heart and life with a child that needs a family. Spend some time learning about adoption and foster parenting. Thousands of children need quality homes, both temporary and permanent. If you’re not up to the commitment of adding to your family, reach out to support struggling families who need your help. Donations of supplies, clothing, school supplies, or toys are welcomed. Contribute your time at a shelter or become a respite parent who provides relief time to struggling families.

Contact your state Department of Children and Families. Other useful resources:
http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/free-adoption-resources/

http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/adoption-resources

Advance from the person who wants things to be different, to one who takes action and becomes that difference. Your life and the life of a child will be transformed forever.