Rob and I have four biological children, and eight years ago our family grew again through adoption. We are so grateful that God gave us the best gift in the courtroom that day, but we also had no idea what the journey ahead would hold. When we read Brittany Salmon’s book, It Takes More Than Love, we felt seen and understood.
Today, we’re welcoming Brittany onto the podcast! She is a professor, writer, and Bible teacher with a MA in Intercultural Studies. Brittany and her husband, Ben, have seen God do incredible things in their lives, and are passionate about advocating for the adoptive community.
Whether you have considered adoption yourself, are an adoptive parent, or just want to learn how to better support those in the adoptive or foster care communities, this episode is for you.
Brittany shares with us:
- God’s intervention in their journey of infertility
- The different types of adoption that are possible
- Why we need to listen to all the voices in “the adoptive triad”
- Whether you should pursue adoption if your spouse isn’t 100% on-board
- How to be supportive even if you can’t adopt right now
We hope you enjoy this conversation!
Links:
- Brittany’s Website
- Connect with Brittany on Facebook and Instagram
- It Takes More Than Love by Brittany Salmon
Our Takeaways:
1) Everyone’s journey with adoption is unique. Brittany walks us through many of the different forms of adoption, like kinship, domestic infant open, adoption through foster care, international, and more. Then it breaks down even further to categories like transracial adoption, transcultural adoption, and same-race adoption. Each child, and each of these forms of adoption, have their own unique challenges.
2) We need to listen to all voices from the adoptive triad. That triad is adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents. This is so important. Both foster care and adoption are not about being the “savior” (that’s Jesus’ role), but instead it’s an opportunity to support people who are hurting and simply need to be shown love.
3) You don’t have to adopt to make a difference. It doesn’t make sense for everyone to adopt, and that’s okay. We loved Brittany’s challenge to think through how you can still show up in the lives of people throughout the adoptive community. How can you encourage and support biological families? What if you reached out and asked what a foster or adoptive family currently needs?
Meet Our Guest
Brittany Salmon
Brittany Salmon is a professor, writer, and Bible teacher. She has a MA in Intercultural Studies and is currently pursuing her doctorate from Southeastern Seminary where she is doing research on racial representation in Christian children’s literature. Brittany is passionate about taking theology and applying it to everyday lives. And yet the people closest to her think of her as the friend who loves oversized sweatpants and a great conversation over coffee. She lives in Abilene, Texas with her best friend, Ben, and their four children.
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