04 May A New Beginning

Observed annually on May 4th, National Renewal Day was created for new beginnings. “New beginnings.” What an appropriate thought for adoption. Especially for Courtney April. She explains in a blog post that “adoption saved my life.” She describes how seven months prior she had been so depressed that she “could scarcely get up to make my oldest something to eat” and how the path she was on was “dangerously close to costing me everything. Even my life.” Adoption gave Courtney hope. Hope for her baby and hope for a new beginning. She came to know herself to be a person “worthy of happiness and success.” She deserved to live a good life.

Courtney’s story reminds us of the many women we have worked with who were in a tough place in life when they became pregnant. For many, pregnancy was an incentive for change… Whether they chose to parent or create an adoption plan, these women wanted to be a better parent, a better person, fight to make changes to improve their life.

For those who chose an open adoption plan, many have overcome major struggles to be a positive presence in their child’s and their child’s adoptive family’s lives. Leaving behind a life of addiction, financial struggles, self-hate, or abuse, many birth mothers agree that adoption played a huge role in their ability to be that better person and reach stability. New beginnings!

“Adoption is a so complex, and so varied, that it means something different to everyone. Some say that one day I will grow to hate “what adoption did to me”. But I say they are wrong. I will go to bed each night thanking God for the courage to make the choice I made. Thanking Him for the couple He brought into my life.”

Reference:

April, Courtney. (2014). “I’ll Love You For Always.” Retrieved from http://birthmomstrong.blogspot.it/2014/04/today-benjamin-is-11-months-old.html