Not long after we had adopted our younger son, I heard about a couple who had adopted 12 children. Each one of these precious kids was considered “unadoptable” because of various physical and mental challenges. All of them required continuous care and since the family was quite wealthy, they had the means to provide for each child and give them the love and attention they had previously not known. This amazing Mom and Dad had the most unusual looking group of kids, but was one of the happiest families around.

So beautiful.  So humbling.

Here I was holding our perfect-in-every-way baby. Who I wanted. Who my husband  yearned for. Sure, he needed a home, but what we had done was not unselfish at all. We wanted a baby, it was a complete joy having him, and since he was handsome, healthy and happy, even more so. Not really much of a sacrifice.

I felt small.

Plus at the time, I could barely mate 12 pairs of socks, much less care for 10 more kids.

But thankfully God does not play the comparison game. He does not hold contests for who can be the most noble, most righteous, most self-sacrificing soul. There is no Spiritual Olympics. He loves us where we are while gently asking us to do more. And sometimes he asks us to do someone else’s job.

Which is what happened to Saint Joseph. God asked him to be the father of someone else’s baby. To give his heart to a child that was not his to begin with, one who was not his responsibility.

Here is the definition of a Joseph:

Joseph   jo.seph  noun  /’jo-zef/   One who is willing to boldly take on a job that belongs to someone else and do it to the best of their ability.

There was only one Joseph and we are not called to be him, but all of us are called to have a heart like his. We are asked to step up to the plate. It might be adoption or even special needs adoption. Or it could be fostering, mentoring, tutoring, or just being a friend to  a kid who needs one. To find a need and fill it, imperfectly and beautifully, with great love.

Now how hard is that?