A Mother’s Love

A  Mother’s Love

My son and his partner just came home yesterday with a beautiful newborn baby boy. This bundle of joy was made possible by the loving decision of a young mother to give her child an opportunity for a better life. She made the courageous choice to allow her child to be adopted. Her unselfish act of placing her child’s needs ahead of her own is the truest form of love.

My wife, Stephanie, and I have a unique perspective on the adoption of little William James, since we adopted two children of our own decades ago. Being the parents of adopted children, you quickly realize the following…parents are simply caretakers of God’s most precious gift. Whether you are an adoptive parent, or a biological parent, our children belong to God. Parents have simply been given the sacred task of watching over His children.

Being a parent is the single biggest test of our humanity. Can we preserve the innocence of a child? Can we put the needs of someone else first in our life…especially someone so helpless? Do we have the wisdom to understand the responsibility that has been entrusted to us by God?

Chris, his partner, and Michael gave the mother a necklace from Tiffany’s. It was a four leaf clover. In a letter, they told the mother that this necklace symbolized the bond that the four of them now had. Mother, son, and now adoptive parents would always be one…that their love for this child created a bond that would last a lifetime.

I know that this mother will go through periods of self-doubt on whether she did the right thing. I know that she might experience a deep sense of loss. There might be periods of guilt. What she needs to know is that she will always be little William’s mother…she’s just not his caretaker.

Our daughter, Gina, was adopted from El Salvador when she was 6-years old. Through a unique set of circumstances, Gina was able to be reunited with her biological parents.  We were blessed that Gina was able to have all the pieces of her puzzle, so she could reassemble her life in a way that gave it meaning and purpose to her. Having Gina have another set of parents doesn’t diminish our role as her parents. A child can never have too much love.

An adopted child, even a 3-day old baby, will one day need to have the blanks filled in. Every adopted child needs to understand how they came from one set of parents to live with another set of parents.

This mother can rest a little easier knowing that she selected a great home for her son. After growing up in a home with an adopted brother and sister, Michael understands his role in the process. Both he and Chris will be loving parents and caretakers…and their love of little William will not be any less knowing that there is a birth mother who loves her son too.

God’s love for all of us has no limits…and with God’s wisdom, may our love for each other have no limits.

Welcome little William James!