A couple of months ago, we had the joy and delight of having Brooks’ birth mother, affectionately known as Mama Amber, come stay with us a for a few days. One evening, we stayed up late, as she shared more about her life and the difficult circumstances surrounding her pregnancy and decision to place Brooks for adoption. The violation against her that led to her pregnancy made it difficult from the start. Additionally, the pain, abuse, loss, depression, and addiction that lined her past caused great despair as Brooks grew within her and she considered the future. Although she never would have thought she could contemplate abortion, she found herself in a place of desperation and hopelessness where it seemed the only option. My heart broke at the gravity of her situation, and I began to understand how one might become convinced abortion is the only or best way forward.
Fortunately though, by God’s grace, this was not the end of Brooks’ story, nor was it the end of Amber’s. The Lord strengthened her to choose life for this child. He gave her people to love, support, encourage, and pray for her and connected her to an adoption agency that did the same. Then, by His grace, He crossed our paths and knitted our lives together through the life of this incredible boy. I wish I could say the process was easy, but adoption is never easy. There is always pain and loss amidst the joy of every adoption story, and that pain and loss are often felt most acutely by the birth mother. Amber is no stranger to this truth. But, as we sat talking in our living room that night while Brooks peacefully slept upstairs, we found ourselves in awe of the beauty of the relationship God gave us, the wonder of the work He has done in us, and the joy of the gift He gave us in Brooks. We can’t imagine the world without him and are so thankful to the Lord for making his life possible!
If you once found yourself in that difficult place where abortion seemed your only or best option, I pray you would experience the Lord’s compassion for your circumstances, His deep love and care for your soul, and His complete healing of the heartbreak such a decision can cause. For those who may find themselves in this situation in the future, I pray the Lord would encourage you by this story to choose life for your unborn child and that He’d help you trust Him to provide for both you and your baby’s needs. And, may the Lord help us all to value the lives of unborn children as well as the lives of the women who carry them and the men who were part of their creation. May we be the hands and feet of Jesus--loving and caring for all of them as He would, helping provide for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and encouraging them in the beautiful story the Lord has written for their lives and the lives of every person their stories touch in the future!
By Katie Miller
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