There is a spirit of contentment that you just canʼt fake. You can always tell when someone is trying to impress you and when someone is truly rooted in peace. Itʼs momentarily effortless, yet you know itʼs taken years of submission and prayer. When we stepped out of the car and onto the Rogersʼ sidewalk, I felt it. Peace. As we approached the house, the sun beamed through the tree branches and cast a soft, playful light while the Spirit of the Lord settled in over our hearts. I knew this was going to be special.
We were welcomed with warm smiles and two little girls eager to show us their room. After introductions I slipped into Madison and Adiaʼs room to watch the two sisters climb on their bunk bed and show me their favorite toys. The girls, neither over 8 years of age, giggled and delicately tip-toed around the quaint room. Silence filled the air as the both looked up at me. I locked eyes with Madison, the eldest Rogers daughter, and she decided to break the silence. “You flew all the way here from Texas to video our adoption story? You must really care about adoption.” I couldnʼt help but laugh and assure her that we really do care about adoption, and we could not wait to hear their story. She immediately left the room only to reappear with a drawing she had recently made to share with us and our cameras. “This is us, me, my mommy and daddy. This is the airplane we went on. We went to Africa and to Ethiopia. This is the place we went to. Then we went here and got Adia. Adoption is great!” The simplicity of a child is truly a wonderful gift from God. From that moment onward, simplicity and peace rooted deep in the gospel was the theme of our time with the Rogers family.
Kristin and Jonathan Rogers are deep. They are thinkers and theologians. They take very seriously their relationship with the Lord and revere Him with all their hearts. They walk in trust, adoration, and are raising their girls with respect and humility. They are admirable parents and sacrificial servants, but most importantly they find worth not in these things but in the infinite love of a gracious savior. They are ordinary people living out a call from an extraordinary God, to take care of the orphan. They arenʼt super heroes, nor did they hear a booming voice from Heaven to adopt. They are simple and meek, seeking to serve the Lord and Him only. When we first asked about their adoption, Kristin sweetly smiled and gently confessed, “There is nothing special about our adoption. We just knew what it said in the Bible and we did it.” The simplicity of their faith and ordinary parts of their adoption are beautiful. Adoption and the people involved should not to be romanticized, rather, we should look to them for inspiration and encouragement while finding our worth from the Lord. Not everyone is called to adopt, but we are all called to care for orphans. For the Rogers family, they chose to adopt a beautiful little 8 month old Ethiopian girl named Adia. There have been unforeseen challenges along their road, but when it comes to their child no challenge will stand in their way.
We spent the rest of our time with the Rogers family interviewing them, hearing their story, watching them parent, and growing our friendship. Kristin and Jonathan Rogers tell their adoption story far better than we can, so weʼll leave it to them in our upcoming documentary. But for now, weʼll leave you with a few, sweet family photos from our afternoon together.
Be encouraged, dear one. Take notice of the simple desires the Lord places on your heart. Donʼt wait for an audible voice to take action. Pray, learn, do. Educate, inspire, adopt.
