As I sat across the table from one of our young campers, I began to ask her about her life. As she spoke, she mentioned she was adopted. I asked her, “Do you like being adopted?” To this she replied, “Yes!” I further inquired, “What’s your favorite part of being adopted?” With a sly little, joyful smile, she quietly responded, “I like that I will never be taken from my home again. I like that I will have the same Mom and Dad forever. I like that I have brothers and sisters, and that I am not alone.” I smiled back at her, as if she hadn’t just told me something heartbreaking and touching all at the same time. Her words made me think of the process of adoption into the kingdom of God. In Ephesians 1:5-6 the bible says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (NLT) Like this camper, we too have been adopted. Once in the family of God, through salvation, our home is in heaven and comes with eternal security. In Christ, we find a loving, forever Father, who never changes. And with Christ living within us, we are never alone. It is our hope, that not a single child leaves Wilderness Trails without knowing these truths. That they may embrace adoption into the body of Christ and go home praising God for the glorious grace that He has poured out upon them.
In Christ,
Leslie Ingraham
Girls Program Director
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