As I reflect upon our two adoptions this National Adoption Month, I am left teary-eyed remembering the beauty of the journeys for me and my husband, as well as the strength and generosity of their biological mothers — women who went above themselves in choosing life and hope for their children.
Twenty-four years ago, doctors diagnosed me with endometriosis and told me I would likely never be able to have children. My husband and I were devastated. As I coped with my grief, I had no idea that a 19-year-old girl named Elizabeth was grieving nearby for the opposite reason: She was pregnant out of wedlock with a baby she was terrified to raise on her own.
Elizabeth didn’t want an abortion, but she thought there was no way she could raise her baby alone. Just nearby, I was grieving my dreams of motherhood. Somehow God found a way to connect our separate suffering and to produce something beautiful out of it.
When a mutual friend introduced me to Elizabeth, I was struck by how young and scared she was, yet also resolute in her opposition to abortion. She believed that having two parents was important for raising a child.
Ultimately, she chose my husband, Tom, and me as adoptive parents. We were overjoyed and eager to support her throughout the process. My mother recommended that I connect Elizabeth with the local pro-life pregnancy center, Women’s Life Care Center, where Elizabeth was able to receive regular support from the center’s advocates in addition to maternity clothes.
