Stuck.

Last night, our family sat down together and watched Stuck. This is recently released documentary about international adoption. The goal of the movie is to “promote adoption as a solution for children without parents.” The movie follows several parents through their adoption journeys in order to shine a light on the need for adoption… specifically international adoption. It also vividly outlines the daunting process that families must go through in order to adopt. 

For anyone interested in adopting or just curious about how it works, we recommend you check out the movie at stuckdocumentary.com. There you can follow their ministry as well as download or stream the movie ($12.99).

As a family currently in the international adoption process, this movie stirred many emotions – from excitement and joy watching families unite, to heartbreak from seeing the living conditions of institutionalized children, to fear of the unknown future and bureaucratic mountain we face. The movie spends a lot of time pulling back the curtain on the ways that government is getting in the way of placing children in families. The red tape, both here in the US and abroad, has driven the cost of adoption and the time to complete the process to ridiculous levels. However well-intentioned these groups and laws may be, the reality is they are not preventing the evils they were intended to prevent and instead or preventing millions of children from having a family. 

My hope is that this does not discourage you, but rather emboldens you to become active. Support those going through adoption. Bring these issues to the mind of our leaders and do not let them brush it aside. Get involved with poverty fighting groups so that there may be less orphans to begin with. Consider adopting. Most importantly, pray. As Christians, our Savior was adopted by his earthly father, Joseph, and we are adopted as God’s children. Adoption is close to the heart of God and He will answer those prayers.

The reality of adoption is going to be tough and messy. But that is okay… because the need is great and the reward at the end is worth it. After all, a generation of children is what is at stake.