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Julie Sanders

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February 17, 2011 ·

Love Before Sight

Love· Parenting

As we celebrate the “Things We Do for Love” in February, I want you to hear from my Scripture Dig sister Sandra Peoples. When the Scripture Dig Team comes to our women’s retreat April 8 & 9, Sandra will co-lead a special breakout session focusing on adoption. This is the story of what Sandra’s family is doing for love.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Locking eyes with “the one” and knowing instantly? What about love before sight? Can you love someone without ever laying eyes on him? I believe you can, because it’s happening in my family right now!

Before Lee and I were married, we talked about wanting a big family. After having two boys biologically, we felt it was time to obey God’s call to care for the orphans. Christian families obey this command in many different ways, and for us, that call was to add to our family through adoption. We prayed about which agency to use, which country we had a burden for, and even the gender and age range of the child we wanted to adopt. With each decision, we fell more deeply in love with our child, who we have never met!

So how do you love a child you’ve never met? We’ve had plenty of opportunities to find out! Right now our love is marked by opportunities to sacrifice. Because we love our little boy, we organized yard sales with all the proceeds going toward the adoption. We didn’t have birthday parities or celebrate Christmas with too many gifts. We eat at home instead of eating out, clip coupons, and rotate toys instead of buying new ones. I’ve even started working a part-time job with all the money going to the adoption fund. We are so thankful for family members and friends who have also sacrificed to add to our adoption fund. The sacrifices are small compared to the love we have for our son, but the faster we can raise the $30,000 it takes to get him home to his forever family, the faster we can show him and tell him how much we love him in person!


God is truly a Father to the fatherless, and we are excited to be able to care for one of His children in our forever family (Psalm 68:5). We pray for our son in Ethiopia. We pray for his health, care, and development. We pray for the lessons of faith and trust we continue to learn through this process. And we pray for love–love before sight is possible, and it is truly a gift.

Sandra is a pastor’s wife and mom to three boys, two she gets to spend every day with and one she hopes will come home to his forever family through adoption this year. You can keep up with her adoption family at her family blog, and also find her blogging at Heart for Him, Today’s Housewife, and Scripture Dig.  

Do you understand what it means to be adopted by God as His child? Next Tuesday I’ll be blogging at Scripture Dig about what spiritual adoption looks like.


What do you know about physical adoption from personal experience?

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Previous Post: « Love Before Sight
Next Post: What He did for love »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TeriLynneU says

    February 17, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    I love Sandra and Lee and their boys! What a joy to have spent a few days in their home … and their heart for adoption is just beautiful. Thank you, Julie, for highlighting their story!

  2. Laughwithusblog says

    February 18, 2011 at 11:08 pm

    Godspeed!

February 17, 2011 ·

Love Before Sight

Love· Parenting

As we celebrate the “Things We Do for Love” in February, I want you to hear from my Scripture Dig sister Sandra Peoples. When the Scripture Dig Team comes to our women’s retreat April 8 & 9, Sandra will co-lead a special breakout session focusing on adoption. This is the story of what Sandra’s family is doing for love.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Locking eyes with “the one” and knowing instantly? What about love before sight? Can you love someone without ever laying eyes on him? I believe you can, because it’s happening in my family right now!

Before Lee and I were married, we talked about wanting a big family. After having two boys biologically, we felt it was time to obey God’s call to care for the orphans. Christian families obey this command in many different ways, and for us, that call was to add to our family through adoption. We prayed about which agency to use, which country we had a burden for, and even the gender and age range of the child we wanted to adopt. With each decision, we fell more deeply in love with our child, who we have never met!

So how do you love a child you’ve never met? We’ve had plenty of opportunities to find out! Right now our love is marked by opportunities to sacrifice. Because we love our little boy, we organized yard sales with all the proceeds going toward the adoption. We didn’t have birthday parities or celebrate Christmas with too many gifts. We eat at home instead of eating out, clip coupons, and rotate toys instead of buying new ones. I’ve even started working a part-time job with all the money going to the adoption fund. We are so thankful for family members and friends who have also sacrificed to add to our adoption fund. The sacrifices are small compared to the love we have for our son, but the faster we can raise the $30,000 it takes to get him home to his forever family, the faster we can show him and tell him how much we love him in person!


God is truly a Father to the fatherless, and we are excited to be able to care for one of His children in our forever family (Psalm 68:5). We pray for our son in Ethiopia. We pray for his health, care, and development. We pray for the lessons of faith and trust we continue to learn through this process. And we pray for love–love before sight is possible, and it is truly a gift.

Sandra is a pastor’s wife and mom to three boys, two she gets to spend every day with and one she hopes will come home to his forever family through adoption this year. You can keep up with her adoption family at her family blog, and also find her blogging at Heart for Him, Today’s Housewife, and Scripture Dig.  

Do you understand what it means to be adopted by God as His child? Next Tuesday I’ll be blogging at Scripture Dig about what spiritual adoption looks like.


What do you know about physical adoption from personal experience?

Share with a friend?

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Related

Previous Post: « Not the easy path
Next Post: Love Before Sight »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TeriLynneU says

    February 17, 2011 at 8:44 am

    I love Sandra and Lee and their boys! What a joy to have spent a few days in their home … and their heart for adoption is just beautiful. Thank you, Julie, for highlighting their story!

  2. Laughwithusblog says

    February 18, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    Godspeed!

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Thanks so much for stopping in. I'm glad you're here. I believe we're meant to know peace in our lives, so I write about how to find it in our relationships and how to share it with others. I like to keep things sourced in God's truth and useful for life. May your moments here leave you with a little more peace for your days.

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"Julie’s writings and teachings have been spiritual markers in my life. The deep knowledge of the Word she possesses, and they way in which she delivers it through her writing are deeply impactful. I would say that my favorite piece about Julie’s work is the way she speaks truth in love. She never waters down scripture to fit someone’s desires. And she does this with so much grace and compassion."

Susan - Homeschool Mom, Foster Mom & Business Consultant, Mt. Juliet, TN

Julie Sanders, Author and Speaker
5
2019-09-08T18:00:00-04:00

Susan - Homeschool Mom, Foster Mom & Business Consultant, Mt. Juliet, TN

"Julie’s writings and teachings have been spiritual markers in my life. The deep knowledge of the Word she possesses, and they way in which she delivers it through her writing are deeply impactful. I would say that my favorite piece about Julie’s work is the way she speaks truth in love. She never waters down scripture to fit someone’s desires. And she does this with so much grace and compassion."
https://juliesanders.org/testimonials/susan/
"Through the years and seasons of life, Julie willingly follows God's open doors and trusts Him at times when some windows have closed. I have gratefully watched, learned and gathered courage for my own following. Whether speaking, writing, or just being present, Julie's grace, wit, interests and love draw others closer in to listen and follow her in step with His grace and mercy."

Carla - Volunteer Coordinator, Harvest Church, Oswego, Illinois

Julie Sanders, Author and Speaker
5
2019-09-08T18:04:20-04:00

Carla - Volunteer Coordinator, Harvest Church, Oswego, Illinois

"Through the years and seasons of life, Julie willingly follows God's open doors and trusts Him at times when some windows have closed. I have gratefully watched, learned and gathered courage for my own following. Whether speaking, writing, or just being present, Julie's grace, wit, interests and love draw others closer in to listen and follow her in step with His grace and mercy."
https://juliesanders.org/testimonials/carla/
"Julie Sanders is uniquely gifted to speak the never-changing truth of God into the ever-changing lives of women. With authenticity and the confidence that grows from a journey of finding God faithful in every season, Julie calls women to find peace and comfort in Him alone."

Kristi - Women's Ministry Director, The Chapel in North Canton, Canton, OH

Julie Sanders, Author and Speaker
5
2019-09-13T21:32:41-04:00

Kristi - Women's Ministry Director, The Chapel in North Canton, Canton, OH

"Julie Sanders is uniquely gifted to speak the never-changing truth of God into the ever-changing lives of women. With authenticity and the confidence that grows from a journey of finding God faithful in every season, Julie calls women to find peace and comfort in Him alone."
https://juliesanders.org/testimonials/9175/
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Julie Sanders, Author and Speaker

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