that is what I recall. Oh, I had met Jesus
though. When I was about nine years old,
I;read;a;Christian;tract;in;our;doctor’s
office;and;had;prayed;the;prayer;to;give
my heart to Jesus.
We attended church less and less, fol-lowing;my;mother’s;accident.;For;many
years our lives revolved around medical
appointments, tests, scans, and eventually surgery. Through this time, I faced
the;gawky;teen;years.;I;wasn’t;sure;who;I
was.;I;just;wanted;to;fit;in.
Despite our family’s years of challenges, life progressed. My sister and I
married and had children of our own.
Our parents seemed reasonably content.
I found a church where I could learn
and grow.
Although my adoption was sealed,
my;curiosity;did;not;rest.;I;wasn’t;sure
what drove me, but it seemed there was
a mystery unsolved. I searched online. I
searched any legal document the courthouse would let me access, which did not
amount to much. My efforts revealed little, except the age of my birth parents. It
was not the unexpected teen pregnancy
that had been assumed. No, my birth par-
ents;were;in;their;mid;to;late;20’s;when;I
was born.
I;was;shocked;by;my;newfound;infor-mation. Having a child of my own at an
even younger age, I could not fathom
giving up a child. My growing faith was
new. I did not understand who I was as
an individual. I did not understand who
I was in Christ. The whispers of discour-agement;came;quickly.;“You;are;an;ac-cident. You should not have been born.
You are a mistake.” The enemy spoke
loudly and was relentless.
God is faithful! Despite the heavy
discouragement and blaring lies of the
enemy, I sought the Lord. I questioned
who I was. I questioned why I was ever
born.;In;what;felt;like;an;audible;voice
that;I;had;heard;for;the;first;time;in;my
walk,;I;received;an;answer,;“You;are;my
child.”;The;passage;I;was;reading;seemed
to come alive. “But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name: Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God” (John 1: 12-13). That was
it. I understood. I was not born by the
will of any man or woman. I was born,
in;flesh;and;in;spirit,;by;the;will;of;God.
My adoption story could end there.
Although I did not know the specific
plan;or;purpose;for;my;life,;I;knew;and
accepted that I was and always will be a
daughter;of;the;King.;“According as he
hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love:
Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved” (Ephesians 1: 4-6).
It was a few years later that I unexpectedly received a card in the mail. An indi-vidual;was;hired;to;find;me;on;behalf;of
a birth sister. For a few days I was restless with anticipation. Calls were made
and paperwork had to be signed and
processed;to;authorize;the;exchange;of
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
I was not born by the
will of any man or
woman. I was born, in
flesh;and;in;spirit,;by
the will of God.
