Women's Conference

I had the wonderful opportunity to take 2 days and go to Women's Conference.  I was excited to go this year because there were two classes I really wanted to go to.  One was on Infertility and the Gospel Plan and the other one was on Adoption.  I didn't really feel anything special at the first one, but the class on Adoption was amazing.  I walked into the room and it was a small gathering.  There were only about 25 people there, but the spirit that was felt the instant you walked into the room was unmistakable.  There were three women who spoke of their experiences:  a mother who had adopted, a woman who worked with birth mothers and a grandmother of a baby that was placed for adoption.

The moderator said something that confirmed to me that our decision was right.  She said that all children are Heavenly Father's children and all parents are adoptive parents.  This was something I had thought just a week earlier in my post, Meant to Be Ours.  To see the love from this adoptive mother in reference to her daughter, who was there with her, was amazing.  Tears were flowing from everyone in the room.

The social worker said something that struck me to my core, Birth Mothers are the most incredible women in the world.  I'm embarrassed to say, I hadn't really given much thought to the birth mom's, other than to get excited at the prospect of getting a baby.  But as the social worker continued talking, I realized what a difficult decision it must be to decide to place your baby into someone else's arms and trust they will give your baby the love and care it deserves.  The birth mom's truly are incredible women.  To give up your child is, without a doubt, the most selfless gift that any mortal woman could ever give.

One other thing I hadn't given much thought to was that the birth mother isn't the only one giving something up.  For each birth mom, there are grandparents and great grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews that love this unborn baby and will never get to experience the joy of watching the child grow up.  The birth mom isn't the only one who will be affected.  There is a whole support system that will forever be touched by the birth mom's decision.

One last thing the moderator said was that for the birth mother and for the adoptive couple, adoption started with tragedy, but ends with joy.

The spirit was so strong and I know that adoption will be a wonderful experience.