I am typing this from my cell phone while sitting in my camper trailer so please forgive the editing errors. Most of my family has gone to bed. We have spread out, sleeping in any nook and cranny we can fit into. Some are in the van while others are in our pull behind trailer. We don't have much, just a fan to circulate the air, a few small lights, a fridge and a working toilet. Much more and we trip the breaker of the church building we are pulling our electricity from. We draw our water from the building as well. It's stored in a big 7 gallon jug that we drink from and can cook with. We wash up in a small bucket like the kind you might use to mop with. So you might ask why we would live like this for a little over a week and I wonder if what I say could move you to tears, to your knees and into action.
When I was a teenager I felt incredibly alone. A few families from my church where I attended (usually by myself) cared for me and loved me. They had me over for dinner and let me stay over night in their homes often visiting with me into the early morning. I absolutely believe that as a result I beat the odds. Whatever statistics you might read about a lower income teen being raised in a single absentee parent home exposed to drugs and alcohol, I beat those statistics. Why? Because someone loved me.
Fast forward many years and I am married to the love of my life and we have five beautiful children. We loaded up our family and we have been living in a parking lot because I have been moved to tears, moved to my knees and moved to action. Someone loved me so much they changed my life. I cannot live a life that doesn't reflect that kind of love. There are girls and women that didn't beat the statistics, but there is still hope. I can love them and you can love them. I cry for them and I pray for them and I have been moved to action.
My family spent much of this week with Victoria, my three year old daughters birthmom. We have loved and prayed for Victoria ever since we decided to adopt. When I finally met her a week before Faith was born I couldn't help but to love her and hug her and help her. Victoria has moved from the homeless shelter she had lived in and has her own apartment and has gotten a wonderful job that she can continue to work her way up in. I know that she will do wonderful things with her life.
Through out the week on the days that we didn't visit with Victoria we spent time getting to know our new birthmom. For our first visit we met at a restaurant. My husband Jason, our adoption counselor Jerry and I all sat at the table and waited for her. She arrived alone with her bright blue eyes nervously looking at us. I sat across from her as we shared details about our families. Nearing the end of dinner she began to cry. She somberly utters the words, "please tell her how much I love her." We parted with hugs and a few tears. We met with her again today but this time we both brought our other children, my five and her three. Our kids all got along great as they ran up and down the park and played on the monkey bars and slide. Jason sat and visited with her boyfriend while she and I talked. I asked her who she has to lean on and her story hits home and yet was very different than my own. When she was a teenager she was very alone. She never had a family to care for her and love her. No one shared their home with her or sat with her talking all through the night. She stands before me utterly alone. I will love her. She will place her baby with us to adopt and we will give her a life that her birthmother cannot provide. But we won't stop there. If she will let us, we will love her as well. We will be her family just like we have done with Victoria. We will send card and pictures and a gift on her birthday. We will email, text, call and visit because we love her.
There are more that need to be loved. Girls, women and their babies. What can I say that will move you. If only you could look in her eyes and see the girl before me. How much she hurts and how much she needs you.
There are places like Christian Family Services in Gainesville, Fl that helps to counsel women and help them to make the right descision for them whether it is to parent or to place their baby for adoption. They need volunteers to help get things done in the office so the counselors can devote more time to ministery to these women. They also need financial help. It cost a great deal of money to drive to meet families or to take them to eat so they can talk. The expenses are countless. There are also places like your local pregnancy center that is in need of someone that can devote some time or money. I urge you to get involved. Many of these ministries need money and there is no denying that but money doesn't change the heart. Get involved and build relationships so you can make a difference. I am praying for your heart to bend to what God has planned for you.
