Adoption is a very very close and personal thing to me. Without adoption my life would have been very different. I can say that my adoption story is different than most, but I believe that it is a story of God's grace and providence. I was not adopted from a broken home. I was not put up for adoption because the money was not there and there was just no way. I was adopted because the Lord put a burden and a love in the heart of my biological mother to give me opportunities that I would not have had in a single parent family. I was not given up for adoption, I was blessed to have the opportunity to have a Christian two-parent home where I had opportunities that many kids my age did not have.
Growing up I never doubted that I was loved. I never felt abandoned, but I always knew that there was someone out there who loved me unconditionally and I was determined to meet that person someday. I would write stories about what it would be like to me my biological mom and how excited I would be. As an 8 year old I wrote about how we would go to lunch and take lots of pictures and go shopping, simply because those were the things that my family did quite often.
When I was a Senior in High School I turned 18, and the door to be able to find my biological mother opened, but I was nervous and scared and unsure. I was also facing a lot of changes with graduating and transitioning to college, along with spending a summer away from home working as a nanny. I put it off and continued to do so through my first semester of college.
On the weekend of my 19th birthday I returned from a trip with my family to find a Facebook message waiting for me, from my biological grandmother, and so began the amazing experience of connecting with my family. The emotions that were packed into those months that led up to our meeting for the first time are impossible to put into words. The night before I flew to Seattle I didn't sleep a wink, I was so excited and so nervous.
The day that I met my biological mom was the best day of my entire life. Seeing her for the first time was amazing. Of course there were lots and lots of tears. The few days that we had together were so special and so amazing. We went to lunch, and we did take lots of pictures, well Grandma did ;), and we went shopping. It's been almost four years since I met them and they have been the most wonderful years of my life. Having a connection with my biological family is truly magical.
Sadly, many times adoption stories are very heartbreaking to begin with, I am incredibly blessed that mine is so beautiful. Mine is truly a part of my testimony of God's goodness to me. I am beyond thankful for the HUGE family that God has given me. It is so fun to try to explain to people how it is possible for me to be the fourth of ten kids. The love in my heart was never split, it has grown immensely over the years.
During National Adoption Month I always encourage people to ask questions and get answers. Ask people their stories, get connected, and become educated. Most importantly we must pray for children who are waiting to be adopted. Maybe the opportunity for you to open your heart and your home to a child in need is one that God would desire for you to have. Adoption doesn't always have a happy beginning, but it can certainly have a beautiful ending.
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