Mothers

With our baby girl's second birthday approaching, I find my mind swirling with so many thoughts... Sorrow over missing her first birthday, sheer joy that we will share her second. Gracie's birth mother is also heavily on my mind for some reason. What would I say to her if I could?

Thank you for giving her life.

Thank you for placing her in a public place where
she would be found and taken in to be cared for.

Gracie will always be told of her beginnings,
and her birth country will be a part of all our lives.

Gracie is beautiful, and delightful,
and she is loved unconditionally and
with such a deep love it's overwhelming at times.

I don't know your motives/reasons, but
God's plans for Lian Jia Shu were made before
she was even conceived. The months you carried her
and the moments you shared with her on her first day
can be treasured in your heart - Please don't feel
shame or hopelessness. The Father's hand is
clearly on her.

We have prayed from the start that Gracie's birth parents would also be a part of the family of God so that one day they will see with their own eyes the beautiful girl they had a part in bringing to this world. We won't romance their story with Gracie. We don't know their situation or motives, although her special need and her gender may have been clearly part of their decision. She will always know that she was NO mistake, and that she a Woodard just as much as Ali, Erin & Quinn are. I believe the picture of adoption/salvation will be even sweeter to her heart and mind one day - that that truth will be deeply rooted in her.

CHOSEN & DEARLY LOVED

"None of my bones was hidden from You
when You made me
inside my mother's body.
When You were putting me together there
Your eyes saw my body

even before it was formed.
You planned how many days I would live.
How You made me is
amazing and wonderful.
I praise You for that."
Psalm 139:15-16, 14