Would You be the Answer?

I was recently researching a medical condition that I saw a waiting child had.
I found a hospital website that had "Patient Stories".
The family had two children with the condition and two without. When they found out they were pregnant again, they wondered if they should terminate the pregnancy because this child may also have this condition. (They try and make it sound nice "terminate the pregnancy" but I knew what that meant. A little girls life hung in the balance.) Thankfully for her, the test came back to show she was normal.
I was abhorred at the idea that you would take a child's life before they were born because they weren't "perfect".
Then I was reminded of the little girl we are praying for who has this same condition and the question came to me.
"You pray for a family to step forward for this little girl, to go beyond their possible fear to give her a home... but would you, be willing to be that answer?"
Everyone has their list of excuses as to why they couldn't do said thing, and I'm no heroic exception.

What if she is mentally retarded?
How would I teach her?
What if she could never live independently?
What if I'm not the right personality for that?
How will it effect other possible children I may have?
If she has to live with me forever what will happen to her when I die?
Will I get tired of having a child that never grows up?
... then as these questions swirled in my mind another question came to me.

"But could you love her?"

Could you love her simplicity if she was mentally retarded?
Could you love her every milestone if she was difficult to teach?
Could you love tucking her into bed every night if she could never live independently?
Could you love her for the way Lord uses her to stretch your personality?
Could you love her for the way she will forever change the perspective of your other children?
Could you love her if she didn't out live you?
Could you love her everyday of her life no matter how long or short, hard or easy, because you have gotten the privilege of being her mom?

This little girl deserves to live, even if she's imperfect. And this little girl deserves to be loved because she's not a medical condition... she's a person.
I'm not in a place to adopt, but I won't stay on the "safe" side of advocating. It's far to easy, to fall in love with these sweet faced pictures and pray that "someone" would step up and see that child's beauty, and that "someone" would be willing to go beyond their fears to give that child a home.
But what about me? What if I was able to take that child home? Would I be willing to be the answer?
Because someday, that day will come, and I want the Lord to hear my resounding "YES!!!"
Jesus valued my life more than His own. He died to love me.
Now He asks, "Will you allow Me to love this way through you?"