Hi everyone! My greatest apologies for being absent for so long — my husband and I have been knee-deep in diapers, bottles, lunchboxes and bandaids! But, I wanted to share a little something I wrote back in November with Thanksgiving in mind (and of course I never got around to publishing). I hope you get “all the feels” from this little heartfelt piece. And I will be back!!!
Love and blessings,
Leigh
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In this day and age, and especially in this infamous year of 2020, it is more than easy for us to see and hear so much negativity and to feel heavenly burdened by all of it. The good news, however, even for 2020, is that if we can take a step back from the “main stream” and look retrospectively at our lives, we will surely find many gifts to be thankful for. With November in full swing and the Thanksgiving season upon us, let us focus on closing this year on a positive note – with gratitude.
November holds great importance because of Thanksgiving, but did you know that it also National Adoption Awareness Month? For my husband Jeff and me, November is quite a special time on the calendar – not only because of Thanksgiving and a few family birthdays, but also because the gift of adoption has touched our family twice in the last few years through the birth of our children; Eli is three and Benson Claire turns one in a couple of weeks!
While Jeff and I both always knew that we wanted children, I don’t think either of us stopped to think of how that would look. But little did we know of the mighty plans God had for us. From January of 2017 when we finalized our home study all the way to the present day, we have seen God at work in our journey to become parents and in our journey as a family. He has not only blessed us with the incredible gift of adoption in our children, but He continually draws the mission of Adoption to our hearts.
What is a more beautiful gift than a child? What is a more beautiful gift than life itself? Since we began this adoption journey we’ve been privileged to meet not only Eli’s and Benson’s birth mothers but other women like them who have found themselves pregnant and in dire circumstances — women who have bravely and selflessly chosen adoption for their children; women who have made a choice that is both emotionally and physically challenging; women who have chosen to love their children without being able to walk alongside them. These women, these mothers, have enriched the lives of many families like ours, in a way in which they may never fully see or comprehend.
This Thanksgiving, and every day, Jeff and I are thankful for our wild-eyed Eli and our sweetly sensitive Benson, and for their birth mothers who have made such a loving sacrifice. And we are thankful for the lasting impact that Adoption has made in our lives.