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MY Story
My story is really God's story. His theme is love. And the object of His love was me; a little six-month-old, and my brother Johnny Ray who was four years old, emergently taken away from our birth parents by social services. Young, dependent, and unaware of our circumstances our story continues as our questions arise. Questions like, why were we taken away and do we have any siblings? Time will tell. I invite you to hear my story and my hope is to encourage you in whatever circumstances surround you.
From Birth
By the time I was 6 years old and my brother Johnny Ray was 9 1/2 years old we lived under 5 roofs being transferred by social services 4 times resulting in 3 guardianships and 2 sets of legal parents at their appointed time in the same city, yet a world a part. In spite of our circumstances not 1 day, starting from birth, went by without our loving Heavenly Father by our side.
I didn't know it then...but I do now.
Foster Care
I was four years old and Johnny Ray was 7 1/2 years old when we arrived at our third foster home to meet the parents. This is the first home I have clear memories of as a young child, however my brother remembers them all. Our foster parents were kind, and we felt loved. We belonged. It is important to feel like you belong. "Belong" is my word; I perk up at the mention of it.
Johnny Ray and I are forever grateful to them and wish with all our heart we could give them a grown-up hug, tell them we love them, we are doing well,
and thank them.
But, unfortunately that is not possible, although we tried.
Adoption
The picture on this page is special! It's my brother and me, about two years after we were adopted. And yes, he is as kind and as wonderful as he looks, the best big brother a sister could have. That's Johnny Ray, folks. He always looked out for me, starting the day I was brought home from the hospital.
Unfortunately we had to leave. Fortunately we left together. And fortunately we stayed together. We will probably never know how many social workers and case studies it took to keep us together and adoptable, but in God’s mercy He brought us to our final family address. That didn't just happen by chance. That was a miracle.
However, tragedy would be part of our story in our adopted home and again Johnny Ray and I found ourselves in unstable and uncertain days where we longed to belong. Although we were unaware, God was up to something.
I didn't know it then... but I do now.
Love and Forgiveness
God has given me a heart of compassion for all children to know to whom they belong no matter what their family structure may be. I understand the emotional pain of not belonging to a family and the insecurity it brings to young children. My childhood taught me a lot, but I didn't understand what God was teaching me until I was well into my adult years, married and a mother of six. I've had many heartaches even though Johnny Ray and I were adopted. My desire is to write and speak to all children on the security of belonging. Fostered and adopted children, biological, and stepchildren, single- parent homes and guardianships are situations where children longing to belong to a family are uniquely placed in a home by God..
I desire to write and speak about the power of love and forgiveness that has taken me years to learn and understand. Perhaps God is equipping me to encourage adopted and foster children and their parents.
This is God's story for such as a time as this; full of miracles, and messes, creating beauty out of ashes.
I didn't know it then... but I do now.