• The Story Behind: One Less

    September 28, 2010 - Comments (20)

    Greg,
    Humboldt, TN

     

    My wife and I started an adoption of a little girl named Lily in August of 2007. We were able to finally bring her home in November of 2009! I am the senior pastor of a church in TN and the adoption became a process embraced by our whole family of faith. As a part of the adoption my wife moved into an apartment there in that country so we could foster our now 8 year old daughter. We spent 7 months apart from one another. It was the most difficult test we have faced as a couple. The pain that marked those seven months was quickly replaced when we finally made it home. The joy we shared when we arrived here reminded me of what it must be like when one of God’s children finally make it home. We left Guatemala with no fan fare and a few tears. We arrived at our home with church members lining the street with banners, cheering, and sharing great relief.

     

    Matthew’s commentary on: One Less

     

    “Defend the cause of the orphans…” Isaiah 1:17

     

    I was inspired by the hundreds of stories from people who were so passionate about adoption. What a gift for a family to open up their arms and welcome in a child with no home! Every adoption story is truly the proof that God is involved in the details, even the smallest details. I wrote the first verse to show how at the same time, in two different parts of the world, God is hearing the cries of two hearts, and little do they know they are about to be joined together by a God who can orchestrate the impossible.

     

    There are so many orphans in the world today, that the mission of giving them all a home to the human eye seems more like a mission impossible. But, as I read one story after another about a child finding a home, I found myself saying, “That’s one less, one less, one less broken heart in the world tonight.”

     

    You may not be in a position to adopt an orphan in your life right now, but there are many ways to carry out the command of the bible to care for the orphans. Personally, I have a friend who is in the process of adopting a little girl from Russia and he and his family are in need of financial support to do so. Many friends and neighbors are helping support this family’s effort financially so this little girl can have a home. Ask God to show you how to care for the orphans. Every time you help, that’s one less…

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    • 20 comments

    1. 1. Charmaine Tybor commented:

      Tue 28/9/10, 7:50 am

      Just heard your song on K-Love while Greg & Sheila listened to it for the first time! Wow!…with tears in my own eyes, let me just say THANK YOU Matthew West for bringing attention to the orphans and how this family has followed God’s command to care for the them through “One Less”. I know you are inspiring others to do the same. We have 3 adopted children and while we cannot adopt more we have been able to financially “adopt” through Compassion and bless orphans in that way and WE are certainly just as blessed in giving as they are. Thank you, again, for inspiring others through your music.

    2. 2. Susan Hays commented:

      Tue 28/9/10, 7:53 am

      I just heard this song “One Less” today on K-Love and today 9./28 received word from Ethiopia that our daughter and son-inlaw are now the proud parents of LiLisa. Now there is “one less” broken heart. LiLisa is so beautiful and happy! We are truly blessed to have her.

    3. 3. Craig commented:

      Tue 28/9/10, 8:05 am

      My family’s story was one of those sent in to Matthew’s forum. My wife and I were blessed with two wonderful biological boys. However, we still felt that tug on our life from God telling us that we can do more. So eight years ago, we too, adopted a little baby girl from Guatemala who is now the joy of her daddy’s heart. And earlier this spring, we brought home 2 boys and a girl from Ethiopia to add to our “quiver”. Now, let me be clear – I do not say this to brag or to say “look at the great thing we’ve done” for we’ve been congratulated and told these very words a number of times. It is humbling to hear, as my wife and I are very average – we are not rich, we are not perfect, we stuggle with following God’s will many times. But I share our story to say that if I can step out in faith and do this, then I know you can too. It is our hope and our prayer to encourage those who may read this to consider adoption or support someone who is considering adoption. As Matthew commented above, many of us are PASSIONATE about the cause of adoption and pray that families would hear the Father’s voice encouraging us to care for His own. You will be blessed. I know I am. Psalm 127:3,5

    4. 4. Alex commented:

      Tue 28/9/10, 9:12 am

      The song is so wonderful and such a blessing (they all are) but this one more so because I sent in my story of being adopted and how God is the worker of the impossible and how he can bring a family together even if they are on each end of the globe. I am so thankful that God does care about each and everyone of us and that he had the right parents to come save me and my sister. I am also thankful for my parents to go through the struggles and listen to God no matter how hard it might of been. For if I hadnt been adopted when I did I would of soon been released onto the streets and probably would of been dead by now. I plan to adopt so there can be one less broken heart out there.

    5. 5. Amy commented:

      Wed 29/9/10, 9:17 am

      This song means so much to our family. We were also one of the families that had sent you our adoption story. At the time we sent it, we had not even seen our child’s face. However, since then we received our referral and we traveled to Ethiopia to bring him home. Elijah is now home. He has a family and is deeply loved. 147 Million orphans MINUS ONE…ONE LESS. None of us could imagine our lives without him. Thank you for writing this beautiful song. May others see the beauty of adoption through it.

      My family will be at your concert this weekend. We hope to hear you perform this song. :)
      Blessings,
      Amy

    6. 6. Kim Smith commented:

      Wed 29/9/10, 10:27 am

      Thank you Matthew for this beautiful song that will inspire hundreds more to adoption or caring for an orphan. Even though I have not adopted myself, I have been blessed to being used as God’s instrument for the last seven years of directing an adoption/foster/orphan care ministry in my church. I have been blessed to helping over hundred families in our community and church start the adoption journey, finding forever families for over 60 Russian orphans during the course of 4 hosting programs and next Summer bringing over Philippine orphans. I can truly say it has changed my life forever and I have adopted everyone of these children in my heart! Not everyone is called to adopt but we are all called to taking care of the fatherless.

    7. 7. Chrissy Johnson commented:

      Wed 29/9/10, 11:27 am

      I heard the song on KLove as well the other day while Greg and Sheila were listening! It is an amazing song!! My son has been home for 6 months now and I love to hear the AWESOME stories of these children finding homes!

    8. 8. Lauren commented:

      Wed 29/9/10, 12:23 pm

      Thank you so much for this song! We were one of the families who sent in our adoption story. We are still waiting to bring our little boy home… I often think of the same thing Greg and Sheila do – that it will be a beautiful homecoming with a huge celebration… just like heaven! This song will be our soundtrack for the next few months as we work hard to get our son home.

    9. 9. Kathy Bingham commented:

      Wed 29/9/10, 12:50 pm

      WOW! What an awesome message. I thank Greg & Sheila for sharing, Matthew for your way with heartfelt words and God for adopting each and everyone of us. Your song has such special meaning for our family…my husband & I have adopted two children from Russia. We adopted Olga when she was 8yrs old and Andrei just before his 16th birthday. Everyone thought we were nuts, as we were close to being empty nesters . . . but God placed this on my husband’s heart years ago, when he was adopted @ the age of 4. What a blessing our children are to us, they are truly a gift from God. Your song reminds me of Mother Teresa saying “if you can’t feed 100 people then feed just one”. The number of orphans needing loving homes is staggering, but your song puts the overwhelming into perspective. I’ve pre-ordered your CD and can’t wait until the next time we see you in concert. May God continue to bless you.

    10. 10. Timothy commented:

      Wed 29/9/10, 2:19 pm

      My wife heard this song on Klove yesterday. She called me right away to tell me. See my wife worked at one of the orphanages where Lily had been. She was under her care. My wife often talks of the little girls that she took care of. They were all dear to her heart. She was talking to me about Lily just a few days ago, saying that she wondered how she was doing. It was so neat for her to here that there is a song for lily and well all the children who have and will be adopted. Tahnk you so much. This was truly a blessing for my wife to hear.

    11. 11. Keith Tegarden commented:

      Thu 30/9/10, 12:36 am

      I so wish I could find a copy of this full song. It hits home for my family in so many ways, just from what I have been able to hear. Matthew thank you so much for shinning a light on the mission of adoption. Please let me tell you about my family. When I was a child of only four my father adopted myself and my three older sisters, can you imagine a man adopting four children? I learned years later that my grandpa Ken had basicly adopted my father, (that is to say that my dad took grandpa’s last name after he graduated from high school) by treating him as if he was his own even though my father’s bilogical father would not allow grandpa to adopt him. Well I always wanted to repay my dad, so almost nine years ago I adopted my wife’s daughter. I can still remember the conversation with my father we were both holding back tears when I said that I could not come up with a better way to thank him than to adopt Zoe into our family. A year later my oldest sister and her husband adopted our niece and two nephews. Now my wife and I are currently starting the process of adopting a child together. God adopts us all. He showed us to adopt by the example of Joseph raising Jesus. What an honor it is to help a child to have a family, a home, a heritage, and a relationship with Christ. So I say again thank you Matthew for shinning a light on adoption.
      With Love,
      The Tegarden’s Frankfort Indiana

    12. 12. J Brian Hill commented:

      Thu 30/9/10, 12:55 pm

      Hi Matthew:

      Thank you for using your platform to help children around the world get help, prayer and potentially to find a home in a loving family. My family was blessed to bring our “Lily” home with us from Kazakhstan. And yes, her name is really Lily! God bless!

    13. 13. T Wendt commented:

      Tue 5/10/10, 9:18 am

      I jeard your new song One Less on KLOVE yesterday while driving…WOW!!!!! I am a single lom who has adopted 6 children, my first adoption from India in 2000, through that God planted a seed that has grown into this beautiful garden of children..all with special needs. all races but all needing the love I am able to provide.
      Thank you for the BEAUTIFUL song.

    14. 14. jackie commented:

      Wed 6/10/10, 10:04 am

      I adore this song! There’s nothing like listening to this song as my 4 year old little girl adopted from Guatemala plays in the background. Not only is there “one less” but there’s also “one more” happy family in the world today. I know we have changed her life but nothing like she has changed my husband’s and mine. Only God could perform such miracles! Thanks for the song, God bless you.

    15. 15. The Taufer Family commented:

      Thu 25/11/10, 1:02 pm

      Hi Matthew:
      I am writing you from my small apartment in Nepal. I have been living here for 4 months, apart from my husband, waiting to bring our daughter home. I was in Guatemala almost three years ago and visited with many of the mothers who were living there waiting to bring their children home. I had no idea that three years later I would find myself in the same position. I have no idea when I will be able to return home, but I am completely at peace knowing that God is with us and that there is one less orphan in this world.

      Thank You and God Bless-Vicki

    16. 16. Deanne Broscious commented:

      Fri 4/2/11, 10:44 am

      Matthew, I cannot express how much this song means to myself and our family. I felt like God sent this song specifically to us. We just brought home our baby girl from Ethiopia three month’s ago. I wonder daily at how perfectly God places the right child with the right family and at the right time, in His time. Our job is to trust, which I have learned over the past six years of trying to adopt. I have felt called to adopt since I was a little girl, but was starting to doubt that calling after three failed international adoption attempts. I had finally given up when we received a call to please accept our daughter. We have three boys and this little girl is truly an angel dropped from Heaven above. Thank you so much for writing this song, it will be treasured in our home and in our heart’s forever!!!!

      Deanne L. Broscious

    17. 17. Spud Zander commented:

      Wed 8/6/11, 6:57 pm

      me and my sister, we’re both teenagers, sponsor special needs orphans, through an orphan ministry called reece’s rainbow, on our blog, savingsullivan.blogspot.com. we are very passionate about them and we hope to go to their country in the summer of 2011! we found this song on youtube while looking for songs to put on our blog. unfortunately, the site we use, doesnt hav it. a family whose blog we follow, announced that they commited to the first orphan we sponsored and advocated for, and were in the huge process of adopting frm a third world country. they are now in his country, he’s freed frm theorphanage and waiting for his passport so he can come home! we found this song, i think hile they were on their first trip to meet their son. i dont kno if they’ve heard this song, so i will post a video from youtube, onto their blog tonite! Thanks for the encouragement Matt!

    18. 18. Rita Dixon commented:

      Sat 2/7/11, 7:35 pm

      I just heard this song for the first time last week on a blog. We adopted from Ukraine in March 2010 and fell in love with a little girl, Vera who was in our son’s groupa. I think in the situation, there is always a child who stays on your heart. After a family went to adopt her and left after their meeting to return home without her, there was much heart ache. Vera’s new, wonderful family used this song in a slide show to announce her gotcha day.

      God taught us so much during our adoption journey and we try to advocate for the children from our son’s baby house.

      Thank you for writing & performing this song. It is a great celebration song for Vera.

    19. 19. Erin commented:

      Thu 4/8/11, 6:06 pm

      We are adopting two babies from the Congo. cameronandcooper.blogspot.com

    20. 20. Jennifer Dippel commented:

      Wed 16/11/11, 10:24 am

      I am only twelve but I was still majorly touched by this song because I was adopted so that is why you see my mom’s email because my mom is very protective. I don’t have my own email. Anyway, I was saying that I was adopted. One reason this touched my heart is because I have been damaged and I think that is why I have problems loving other people than my mom. I have also expirenced my mom and dad’s divorce. I was also touched by Two Houses for that very reason.Thank you and I hope that if you could give me any advice on how to control my anger and/or some advice about how I could learn to love others because my mom has a new boyfriend and every time my dad calls to see if he could pick us up, I get overly mad and throw the phone at my sister so she could talk to him. I am on my knees for ideas because my mom is ready to send me away. So please if you have any ideas please either email me/my mom, or call me at 528-1404 (920) or 287-2959 (920) (my mom’s cell). Thank you so much. You have inspired me a lot even though I am still struggling. Thanks again!

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