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As we pulled into my friend’s driveway, my kids bailed out of the car with squeals of delight, eager to see friends. All except our newest child. She sat there with a dark angry look on her face. I took a deep breath, opened my car door, and slid out of my seat. 

I ached to go inside, to study God’s Word with other women, to connect.  I was so lonely and so weary. I gathered my books and called back to her “Hey, hop out of the car!” She turned toward me with the look I’d become all too familiar with, and it began again.  She raged and threatened; her constant need to control me overwhelmed both of us. I quickly prayed (for the twentieth time that day) that the Lord would give me patience and wisdom. 

She hurled every hurtful word she could think of at me, along with some rocks, and anything else in her reach. I never made it further than 5 feet from the car that day.

As I sat down on the gravel driveway fighting hard for this child who refused to be loved, I cried.

I knew I was beginning to break. That day I returned home lonelier than I’d been before we arrived.

Are you a family who has made the life-changing decision to adopt?

Was it harder, easier, or just what you expected? In this case, for our family, it was definitely harder. I know this is not always the case, and that God will bring beauty from ashes, but this season of our life was heart-breaking.

I hope that by sharing and providing some ideas on how you can walk alongside families, it will give you a new understanding, compassion and awareness for how you can serve.

Join us in this 3-part series as I describe what it was like to adopt a child with Reactive Attachment Disorder and share how you, as fellow believers, can serve other families dealing with similar situations.