Prepare for an older child. Rather than just assuming that you’ll adopt an infant, think and pray about potentially adopting an older child. Expect that, if you do decide to adopt an older child, you’ll have more information about his or her development and medical history than you would with an infant, but you may have to deal with challenges like emotional scars caused by your child’s previous experiences. Ask God to give you and your spouse unconditional love for an older child, a sense of humor, wise problem-solving skills, inner strength, flexibility, and a willingness to seek support. If you do choose to adopt an older child, provide him or her with plenty of rest, consistency (like a predictable routine), and time to get used to your home after the adoption.

Prepare for a child from a different race or culture. Recognize that if you decide to adopt a child from another country, your child’s ethnic and cultural heritage will become intertwined with your own. Think and pray about how you’ll handle the racism your family will likely sometimes encounter from others, and how you’ll celebrate your adopted child’s cultural heritage and honor his or her cultural identity.

Prepare for a child with special needs. Understand that if you decide to adopt a child who has special physical, emotional, or mental challenges, you’ll need to assemble a strong support system even before adopting him or her. Expect to be your child’s primary advocate with pediatricians, specialists, social workers, child psychiatrists, caregivers, therapists, insurance providers, and school staff. Pray for God to give you: courage, optimism, a willingness to learn, a sense of humor, perseverance, creativity, flexibility, determination, and thick skin.

Prepare for an at-risk child. Consider how you and your spouse would handle the challenges of parenting a child with psychological or behavioral disorders or different ways of learning that make school hard for him or her. Pray for God to give you the wisdom you’ll need.

Consider an open adoption. Discuss whether or not you and your spouse might be willing to stay in contact with your adopted child’s birth parents, if doing so would enrich your child’s life. Trust God to help you navigate your relationship with the birth parents in ways that will prove most beneficial to you all, and especially to your child.

Adapted from The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting, copyright 2007 by Linda Christianson. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Or., www.harvesthousepublishers.com.    

Laura Christianson, a writer, speaker, and adoptive mom, helps people think through adoption issues on her award–winning “Exploring Adoption” blog.  She is also the author of The Adoption Network and writes for numerous publications.  She and her family live in Washington state.