“And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18

Yesterday I mentioned the minor league baseball ministry that my husband and I had and the blessing that it was to us. One of the young men that we met, during that ministry, was an outfielder that had an incredible arm, a huge heart and a need for family (but only God knew about the family part:) because he was so far from home and his own family. We actually met this young man when we went down to Florida for spring training to see some of the boys that we already had a ministry with.

That summer our young man came to New York to play ball at our ballpark. Our seats at the ball park were in the front row, right behind the net and when the boys came up to the on deck circle (the little spot where they come up and swing the bat to warm up, while the player before them goes up to bat : ). When he came up to the on deck circle and saw us his face lit up and I will never forget that first glimpse of his incredible smile.

Over the course of that summer we grew tremendously close to our young man and he to us. We became his American mom and dad and he became our Adopted Son.

His minor league baseball career would eventually end but our relationship did not. He met a beautiful young woman, who was also from Dominica and is a citizen of the United States. Once he thought that this relationship was going to progress he asked that we meet her. When they announced their engagement he asked us to come meet her family and to stand in as his mom and dad, because his biological mom and dad were in the Dominican Republic. Then the honor of all honors, he asked us to be his mom and dad at the wedding and that my husband speak about them during the service and that I pick a song for our mother son dance. And can I tell you that I cried so hard during our mother son dance that just writing you about it, I tear up all over again.

Our young man is now a permanent resident of the United States, waiting to take the exam for citizenship. He has built a successful career as the owner of his own construction company and his beautiful bride is equally successful and they couldn’t be happier. They also love, glorify and praise God. And we love them both dearly!

We praise and thank our God for that baseball ministry, for every boy that we were able to minister to and for the impact that they all made on our lives. We also praise and thank him for allowing us to adopt this young man into our family and to be adopted by him as American Mom and Dad.

Our relationship with our young man is a vivid picture, for me, of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Some of the young men that we met rejected us and our ministry the way (the way that we all do, prior to accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior), some treated us like a genie in a bottle, only having a relationship with us when they needed something (the way that we treat God), but this young man embraced a relationship with us and clung to it (hopefully, the way that we do as believers in Jesus Christ) and we adopted him as our son (the way that God does us ). He will for all of eternity be our Adopted Son and we will be his American Mom and Dad (the way that we will be Gods sons and daughters, when we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives).

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God adopts us as His children (Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13). And, the way that nothing will change the relationship we have with our Dominican son, nothing can or will ever separate us from the love of God once we have accepted Jesus as Lord of our lives (For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38 & 39).

I pray that today we would all draw near to our Heavenly Father and recognize the magnitude of His love for us. Thank you Father for your love, for your sacrifice for us and for adopting us as your children.

If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please go to our Life Preserver page and pray the prayer that is outlined there. Our Heavenly Father adores you and desires to adopt you into the family. Accept His offer, please. Once you have prayed this prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know so that I can pray for you and hep you grow in your knowledge of and relationship with our Lord and Savior.