Yes, always, love is the most important thing. But with so few pictures from my daughter’s first year I thought it would be nice if both girls could have their birth announcements in their baby books, page 1, and I’ve always told both of them we are so happy to have them, even though they came into the family in different ways, so we had to put it in the paper!
When my daughter was very young, she’d laugh when I told her I prayed for the best two little girls in the world, one happened to grow in my tummy, the other happened to be in China on the other side of the world. She knows I don’t like flying, so the fact that I flew all the way to China and back makes her smile. :)
And you’re right, it was so easy to put that birth announcement in the paper, I didn’t lie, just didn’t mention place of birth.
Adoption is such a beautiful gift. It can change a circumstance that looks so foreboding into one of God's miracles. What must be one of the toughest decisions a mother could make, may end up being the greatest act of love she could do.
I so wish we could get away from the idea of open adoptions. How can a child truly have the clarity they deserve?
When a friend of mine was on his last days, he asked his son to have me join he and his family. I was reluctant since I didn't want to intrude on something so personal, and something that is so familial. He was extremely agitated until his son told him, "Tell him I will be there as soon as I can."
We were best friends in spite of 35 to 40 year age difference. He was also one of those extremely rare individuals that one could call great. We worked on projects that sometimes raised my eyebrows on who was involved. For all his greatness, his larger than life personality, the thing that matter most to him was sharing his love with his family, sharing the love of his Great Lord.
In the end, the fact that a child comes from others matters little. What matters is the love shared along the way.
Now that is pure joy between a father and his son!