The Orphan & the Widow
Those involved in orphan care and adoption often quote James 1:27–
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
And for good reason! It’s an active call from Scripture and a large part of our motivation.
But we sometimes neglect to realize how all-encompassing this verse is. James isn’t limiting our “pure religion” to only helping orphans and widows. Rather, he is telling us to support the marginalized. Defend the oppressed. Even so, it can certainly be manifest in its word-for-word form: helping orphans and widows. And even further, coming alonside and engaging with them.
We see this verse beautifully–and quite literally–lived out through Both Hands, an organization that helps Christian families raise funds for their adoption while also helping a widow. Lifesong connected the following family to Both Hands and incredible things happened. The following is their testimony.
Our Both Hands Project gave us the final funds we needed to bring our little Seriah home. We would have been fundraising for months to reach what we raised in one day with our Both Hands Project. It was a blessing to us and also to our community to serve a widow. Bringing in a team of people to join us on the project was a great way to see our community support each other!
We didn’t send out support letters to fundraise for our adoption, but with our Both Hands Project, we did send out sponsor letters. It was so amazing to see the support come in from people all over the United States to help us bring our daughter home.
We actually raised more than we needed for our adoption. With the excess funds we received, we were able to assist another adoptive family. God gave us that opportunity! And we’re so thankful. We know how hard fundraising is, and to help someone with the process was a huge blessing to our hearts.
SEEKING TO FUND AN ADOPTION?
Lifesong partners with thousands of families to help bring children like Seriah home. Through fundraising tools (like Both Hands), matching grants, and interest-free loans, we seek to bridge the gap in adoption fundraising.