Adoptions are great. Children finding a home with a family that will love them and cherish them forever is beautiful. I am apart of a family that adopted and it has been the root of who I am today. I am a big sister to a little boy that has come so far since he was first placed with us. I am a big sister to a little boy who when praying the other night said the words, “thank you God for putting me in a good family.” and made each one of us smile at the dinner table. I am a big sister to a little boy who made our family fuller.

On February 16th, my family and I celebrated my youngest brother’s adoption day, but he likes to call it family day. He has been apart of our family for 6 years now and it has been quite the journey.

When I was young, I never thought I would ever get the chance to be a big sister, but when he came along he changed all that. He is the reason I am a big sister. I am proud to be his big sister. I am glad that I get to teach him about girls and how to properly treat one. I am glad I get to lay a foundation in front of him that my older brothers could not put down. I am glad I get to play a role that no one else gets to.

During Vacation Bible School in 2015, the kids were asked who wanted to accept Jesus as their Savior. My little brother raised his hand and everything changed. His attitude, his aggression, and his irritability was not a big problem like it was in the past. He had the love of Jesus in him and it was pretty awesome to watch. Over the course of these 6 years, he has made incredible progress and Jesus being in his life has a lot to do with it. The number one thing that has gotten us through from the day he was first placed with us, is prayer. Our family has been dedicated to praying for this little boy and watching God’s plan for him has been fascinating. I just know that when he gets older, this little boy is going to have one powerful testimony.

Aside from all of that, what I want for my little brother is to feel accepted. He is different than the kids at school and I want him to be okay with that. I want him to experience forgiveness. I want him to be able to understand his situation and be able to forgive his birth parents as time goes on. I want to impact him in his walk with Jesus every chance I get. I want him to grow in his faith as he grows up. I want him to grow up to be a gentleman. I want him to be the one who holds the door open for the other kids. I want him to be the one who shows the love of Jesus to the people in his class and in his school. I want him to be so different from the other kids that they want to know and want to have what he has.

I want a lot for my little brother, but what I want most for him is love. I pray that he would know that love is a choice. I pray that when he wakes up everyday, he knows he is loved by God and by his family. I pray that when he gets older, he will fall in love with Jesus. I pray that when there is a girl, he will love her and treat her like Jesus would. I pray that love would flow out of him through his words and his actions. I pray that he will lead others to Jesus because he has something they don’t. He has love.

My little brother is going to go far in life, and I am so glad I get to be his big sister through it all.