The Gift

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Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


I sat at her bedside feeling helpless.  She sat cradling her infant son in her arms.  Tears streamed down her face.  The love for her child was apparent.  Yet she knew she must give him up.  Unable to care for him as a young single mother, she was doing what was best for him.  A Christian couple was waiting in a room just down the hall-- waiting to adopt this precious little boy.

The night had been long and emotional as we waited for this little one to make his appearance.  The excitement, the birth, the bittersweet joy, the sorrow, the pain was all packaged together.  The following day stretched even longer as the young mother said her good-bye.  There wasn't much I could do but pray quietly and offer support.

Finally needing some rest, I left.  As I drove to the home where I was staying the night, the pain of what I had just witnessed overwhelmed me.  My eyes clouded over with tears.  I could hardly see to drive.  Crying out to God I said, "I can't bear this suffering.  It is too much."

Though exhausted that evening, I could not sleep.  My body shook with sobs.  The pain of this mother was more then I could handle. "It's not right.  It's not fair," kept screaming through my head.

Though this story happened several years ago, each year at Christmas, I remember.  I remember because this mother gave up a son.  She gave a beautiful gift to another family.  It wasn't what her heart wanted, but she gave out of love for her child. 

Long ago God sent another baby to earth.  It wasn't just any child.  It was His Son.  This Son he gave out of his great love for us.  It wasn't fair that the perfect Son of God had to come and suffer for me.  It wasn't right that He took the punishment for my sins.  But that is what happened.  And I am eternally grateful for this most precious gift.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

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Raising Arrows

Comments

  1. HollyDecember 6, 2011 at 7:05 AM

    <3 Thank you for sharing this. Holly

    ReplyDelete
  2. JennyDecember 6, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    Thank you so much for writing this, and for sharing it with me. As a birth mother, I have to say that it is so rare and comforting when someone actually "gets it" (sees the overwhelming pain and recognizes the sacrifice of love) and such an incredible gift when someone really does understand!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NatashaDecember 6, 2011 at 1:55 PM

    Jenny, Sending love and hugs your way. I will never forget the hurt and pain of that day, and to know the birth mom feels it every day is something I can't imagine. You are a beautiful person!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JennDecember 7, 2011 at 1:41 PM

    This is such a powerful thought. Being adopted, I can only imagine what my birthmom must have gone through when she gave me up. I know her now and she's a lovely Christian woman. I know she still thinks about the day I was born and every birthday after. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 16, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    Beautiful post!

    ReplyDelete

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