My parents were unable to have children so made the decision to pursue adoption. They were waiting with an agency and were told that it would be about a five year wait, but God had other plans. A fellow member of their church was part of a law firm and another lawyer in the firm was working with a young woman (16 years old) who was pregnant and looking to place her baby girl for adoption. A few days after she delivered, I was brought home to my parents.
I have always believed that birth parents are some of the bravest people I have ever met and this belief was solidified when I connected with my birth mother just a few years ago. I learned that she had been pressured by family and my birth father to have an abortion but instead chose life. I remember as I was growing up, my father became very involved in the pro-life movement and would "force" me to join him in standing along the curb and holding up signs (just what every teen wanted to do early on a Saturday morning). I remember one time someone asking him why this was so important to him and he responded, with tears in his eyes, "because my daughter could have easily been just another statistic." I am so thankful for a birth mother who chose life and for parents who, even though they had never met her, always honored her. It is because of my own adoption story that I knew working in the field of adoption was the only path for me and have spent the last 16 years walking with families through their own adoption journeys.
Rebekah Hall, MSW
Nightlight Texas Executive Director