Adoption had always been an option for us
as we grew our forever family, though we didn’t expect that we wouldn’t be able to have children of our own; when we learned that was the case, adoption was a natural next step for us.
Our first adoption was a joy from beginning to end; a wonderful and courageous birth mother chose us to parent her daughter, and we have been so grateful for her decision.
After such a wonderful experience, we were looking forward to the opportunity to adopt for a second time. We gleefully called and let our adoption agency know we wanted to adopt a second child.
We knew the routine. We knew that we would be one of several families that a birth mother got to consider based on her personal preferences for her child. We knew that the birth mother, not the agency, chose the family for her child, and we knew that we might not get chosen right away because this wasn’t our first adoption, but we remained hopeful.
Every time the agency contacted us about being presented to a birth mother because we matched well with her preferences, we said ‘Yes!’ Fifteen times, we agreed to be presented. Fifteen times, the birth mother chose to go with a different family.
In our minds, we knew it wasn’t personal, but our hearts would still ache. We wondered if our wonderful daughter, who we had adopted three years before, would be raised as an only child when we wanted a house full of children. My husband and I would console each other and remember that we are truly blessed to have been able to adopt once and that we needed to trust in God’s timing, not our own.
After our 16th presentation, our meant-for-our-family child was placed into our arms by his birth mother as our daughter looked on in delight.
I’m so glad we didn’t give up.
When she read our profile, she said she knew we would be the best family for her son. There was no doubt in any of our minds that this situation was the right one for us. I will be forever grateful to her.
