Treasured Pearls

I have changed the name of our blog (though not the address) in response to two things. First, since we are adding to our family again, we will no longer be a family of six. Second, I was reading a friend's blog post and something just struck me. Part of her post says

"I'm seeing it with fresh eyes after spending weeks and weeks with children on the other side of the world who are treasures just waiting to be found. Riches stored in secret places."

and it made me think of Matthew 13:44-46

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

I know Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, but I couldn't help but think of the treasure and the pearls as orphans hidden in orphanages amongst so many. I don't want to take anything away from my biological children, but I do feel as though my adopted children are treasures and pearls that I had to search for to find. I also don't want to imply that I "bought" my children, but rather I see this as the man in the parable being willing to do whatever it took to be able to bring the treasure and the pearl into his world.

If you knew there was a treasure just waiting for you and you knew where it was - what would you do? Would you go about your daily life as if the treasure didn't exist? Or would you do everything in your power to be able to go and retrieve that treasure?

There are 147 MILLION treasures and pearls waiting for you - they can be found in orphanages in China, Ethiopia, India, Guatemala, Russia, Ukraine, and VietNam. They can be found in the US in foster homes and group homes. God calls children a treasure. When are you going to do everything you can to bring your treasure home?