[anilorak13ska]

Hi again! You mention that your adoptive parents weren't Muslim. Do you know if your birth parents were? Or did you convert? I'm just curious. I hope that's not too personal.

I have certainly thought about how I want to stress to my children that before we came along, God was with them. Before they were born, God was with them. I want them to have that sense of continuity and also that they, as a child, do not "belong" (in the sense of property) to us as their adoptive parents, nor do they "belong" to their birth parents, nor to anyone else. They are children of God first and foremost, and their earthly parents, both bio and adoptive, were placed in their lives for a reason, and they wouldn't be who they are without both sets (and without the other important people in their lives - foster parents, other relatives, friends, spouses, etc.)

I think a lot of parents feel that their children are "theirs" like a dog is "theirs", but we do not belong to other people. We belong WITH other people (hence the sense of belonging), but not TO them.

I hope that this attitude will not only help me be a better mother, in being accepting of their differences and their choices that I may not agree with (provided they are morally right, like choice of career or spouse), but also that it will help them truly feel like a child of God.

Well, thanks again for sharing.