This is the month to honor Adoption but it Got Blasted under the table By Bombs, Shooters, Refugees and Politicians.

So nobody is talking about adoption.

But the strange thing is adoption is exactly what we should be talking about. Especially now. Surrounded by Bombs, Shooters, Refugees and Politicians.

Adoption is how we embrace people out of choice, instead of obligation.

I chose to adopt six children with challenges. I love all my children. Even the ones that came from my belly. But the adopted ones were more intentional. They had to be because the process was harder. Nobody just adopts six children because they got drunk one night and forgot to use a condom. Adoption is hard.

But so worth it.

I built a family of eight children into an army of love and acceptance. Their skills and their differences grew. They shone brightly. We were a rag tag bunch teaching each other and stretching the world around us.

Adoption is a blessing.

And so worth it.

My grandparents chose to adopt my father. He was three. They adopted him because no child had come their way. My grandmother must have wanted a baby very badly. I think this because in the old yellowed pictures of my grandparents my grandmother is always holding a doll. Always! She took it everywhere until the day my dad, a real child, disembarked from a train to call her mom. My grandma was a little crazy, but she sure loved my dad.

Adoption can be strange, immediate or long sought after.

And always worth it.

My parents chose to continue the fashion of acceptance and adopt my brother. He was the same age as my biological brother and an intended playmate. My adopted brother was of American Indian heritage and clashed with my folks. They found him awkward and slow and seemed to hate the way he looked and moved. He was left-handed and his elbows were always in the way. He was different. He had unusual boundaries and ideas. I loved him till he died and beyond. Adoption increased my heart; it made me more.

Adoption hurts.

Every ouch is absolutely worth it.

Adoption is hard. It is a natural occurrence that even animals undertake. But it is also messy and it doesn’t always end in Happily Ever After, yet it is always an opportunity for growth and improvement. If you choose it.

Right now adoption is our world’s chance to heal. We have separated into clans long enough to know that separation breeds contempt. Adoption is our chance to heal, to make humans a race again.

We need to embrace and teach everyone in every country to adopt each other.

It will be more than worth it.

I know it works because I already adopt families from all over the world.

I travel and teach and love family after family. They are all different. They are all being the best they can for their children. They are all a little messy. That is what human beings are. We are messy.
Especially when we are learning to fit into each other’s hearts.

My children puked and pooped and broke things much more and much longer than most children do. I just cleaned it up. Eventually it stopped. And then I saw their sweet shiny faces smiling up at me.

And it was worth it.

My parents never really learned to accept my brother and he ended up on the streets where he was murdered. This is not better than a little poopy mess. My brother, all brothers and sisters, deserve a chance to live and grow in peace. Even if the peace is messy.

You will never get rid of the mess. But you can make it a mosaic of luscious acceptance and constant growth. Open the borders and live with the mess of acceptance. That is better than the mess of prejudice and hatred. Let us adopt each other.

I already have. I adopt you. I love you. I promise to care what happens to you. Now… spread the word… There is nothing better than a little love mess. You are worth it.