The Unsung Heroes of Adoption

There is a group of people in the adoption world I think we need to thank and appreciate and pray for. I think this group often gets overlooked, judged, forgotten, even blamed. But without these people, adoption would not exist. These people are birthmothers. The women who give up their children because they feel it is the best interest of these sweet little ones. The women who allow people like me to be a mother.

Every adoption comes with sacrifice and loss. Mothers choosing to let go of their children. Children losing contact with the mothers who carried them and brought them into this world. I have heard people lay blame on birthmothers for bringing children into this world who they do not intend to raise. But I have to say, that in a culture like ours that so readily offers other options like abortion, I think birthmothers are women who love their babies and want what is best for them. These women make the most impossible choice in the world. I cannot imagine giving up my child. For any reason. Even if I knew I was not ready/able to be a mother. But these women do it. They carry their children, bring them into this world and then let them go, all the while knowing that they will probably never see their babies again. I cannot imagine.

But I am so grateful for these courageous women. For one woman in particular. The woman who will bring our sweet one into this world. I call her Grace. Not because I know who she is. I don't. But I do know that it is through God's grace and hers that Adam and I will become parents to a baby born in Ethiopia. I pray for Grace. I pray that the Lord will fill her heart with His peace and His presence. I pray that He will give her courage and strength as she carries this sweet child. I pray that God will give her wisdom to make good choices while she is pregnant, that He will give her strength in the delivery our child. I pray that God will comfort her heart as she makes a choice that I cannot even fathom. I pray that He will reassure her that the child she carries will be loved for his or her whole life. I hope to meet her soon. I hope to be able to look into her eyes and let her know that I will do absolutely everything in my power to give this child the best life possible and to raise this child to know the Lord. I hope to be able to tell her about Jesus and about how we are adopted into God's family through sacrifice. I hope to be able to thank her for her sacrifice.

Please join me in praying for these courageous women. They are the unsung heroes of adoption.

Love,
Baylor