Robyn, reunited:
adoption, family, and learning how to fly
When I first heard it, it totally rubbed me the wrong way. “Gotcha Day” sounds like something out of a Pokemon episode . . . you know the bit: Gotta Catch ‘Em All, POKEMON! If you had asked me this question when I first heard the phrase, I’d have told you that it was definitely offensive.
The conversation with my adoptive parents about meeting my birth parents was not an easy one to have. It happened over a span of a lifetime, right up to the day of actually hugging my birth parents for the first time. It’s still a dialogue we keep up with, as they have now re-entered my life as real living beings, instead of this idea I had of who they could be.
Callie is making a big difference in the adoption community in a unique way. Her biggest passion is connecting the adoption community with the pro-life movement. Her non-profit organization, Talk About Adoption, exists to present women facing an unplanned pregnancy with the option of adoption. “We’re birth moms—that’s what makes us unique. When women face an unplanned pregnancy, we’re women who have been through it,” she says.
It takes each and every one of us to move on behalf of waiting children in order to see change happen. I believe that 2016 is the year to see a real movement begin.
It’s an argument carried on by adoptees and parents alike, and opinions differ widely. Many people who were adopted believe that their adoptions are a defining characteristic of who they are, while others recognize their adoption as a one-time event, and a less defining aspect of their lives.
Want to have a real discussion about strong women? Then we have to have a discussion about birth mothers. These women, these WARRIORS, wake up every day with their bellies growing a little bit larger. These same warriors looked death in the face when they were given the option to abort their baby. These warriors had the courage to say, “No, I will sacrifice myself so that death will not win.”
God has put you in this unique situation because, believe it or not, you can handle it. Without a doubt, it will be trying, but you will learn so much about yourself. Whether or not you choose to reunite with your biological family, the process of processing it will grow you and mold you in ways you never realized you could. Take heart, dear adoptee. You are not alone.
I’m the girl with three fathers. This father’s day is a first, as I get to celebrate my dad, my biological father, and now my father-in-law. I am blessed to be surrounded by men who set such a wonderful example of what it means to be selfless, what it means to be true to yourself, and what it means to follow Jesus. This Father's Day, I have the privilege of honoring all three of these men who have loved me fiercely and taught me so much.
The woman who gave me life was finally in my childhood home, and I was at a loss of words and gutted of my tears. Where do we even begin? How do I try to recount the years of my life, and how do I respectfully ask the questions that haunted me so? 19 years of separation, basically a lifetime, stood between us and the foundation of our relationship.
If you think you know what a bear hug feels like, you don’t. All the time I had spent wondering if we were supposed to shake hands or just go in for the hug became pointless as soon as she walked through the door. Instead of thought, something very close to instinct took over. I clutched onto her like she would disappear if I let go.
