Adoption: Stories of Love

See online at: http://www.berkscountyliving.com/May-2014/Adoption-Stories-of-Love/

by Rebecca J. Doubek | photos by Heidi Reuter

There are some great adoption stories of hope and God's love online. Like this one:

 Keeping the Faith
Tom and Dawn Williams struggled through five years of infertility when they decided to consider adoption.
At first, it was a hard decision for Dawn. “You almost feel like when you choose adoption, you’ve given up on having your own child,” Dawn explains. “Psychologically, you close the door on having your own.”
Having tried everything from insemination and in vitro fertilization to acupuncture and homeopathic doctors, they exhausted all efforts. “We even had a priest come do a special blessing,” Dawn recalls.
The couple’s strong faith pulled them through the emotional stress and roller coaster ride of infertility. Their homeopathic doctor recommended they see an empath in South Carolina. Described as a spiritual guide or advisor, an empath reads energies to help convey feelings of past, present and future life occurrences. The experience in South Carolina was healing for the couple and restored their hope. It validated their choice to adopt.
They decided to try to adopt a newborn by being matched with an expectant birth mother, working with a local agency called Adoption Associates. Tom and Dawn waited several months to be connected with a young girl in Texas named Brittany. She had several children of her own and was about three months along in her pregnancy. They began speaking with her once a week.
Throughout it all, Dawn relied on prayer and faith in God. “There is a higher power. I knew the right child would come to us. I always believed we were going a find the right one for us,” she says.
When they learned the baby was a girl, there was only one name they could think to give her. Tom calls it a “no-brainer.”

“What other name could this child have other than Faith?” says Dawn. 

Throughout the pregnancy, Tom and Dawn grew close to the young birth mother. They arrived in Texas the week Faith was due, but the baby would not be born for another week. The couple used the time to get to know Brittany and strengthen their bond with her. “We always kidded that it was like we adopted her,” Tom says.
When Brittany asked the couple to be in the delivery room, it stunned the soon-to-be parents. “I was so fortunate to be able to cut the cord. Faith was our child from the beginning,” explains Tom. And when the nurse was unsure who to give the baby to, the young birth mother said, “Please give her to me; I want to give the baby to Dawn.” It is something Tom and Dawn will never forget.  Brittany held Faith for a moment before she placed the baby in Dawn’s arms. “She said, ‘Here, now go to your real mommy,’” Dawn says. “I feel like it was a God-given gift.”
The Williams have an “open adoption,” and they keep in contact with Faith’s birth mother and other members of her biological family. Dawn felt it was important for Faith. “I have a connection for Faith for the future, if she ever wants to meet her at any point. When the time comes, we will tell Faith about the celebration of how we got her. It’s not a secret. We were all involved in this process, and Brittany loves her, too.”
Today, Faith is a bubbly and outgoing 3-year-old and she’s filled their home and hearts with joy.
Dawn looks back on her infertility journey as a blessing. In the midst of her struggle, she started work on a developmental activity calendar for children called Parachute Packers. She compiled daily tips, activities and keepsake pages for parents of newborns and toddlers. The hours of research were a welcome distraction. “I removed myself from all that and focused on what I was going to do to cherish my child if it ever happened for me,” she explains. Her calendar is now for sale in local shops and online. “I always say two wonderful blessings came from my infertility: Parachute Packer Calendar and Faith.”