THE GIFT

Our family adopted a baby boy last year. We already had three children born to us, but desired more.

When we heard of the need for families to adopt bi-racial children, we applied for one. In about two months we were called with the exciting news that a little boy was available for adoption. Then she mentioned that he was born with a handicap. His tiny left hand had only two fingers, a thumb and a pinky. Would that matter to us?

My heart sank at first; we had not expected to adopt a handicapped child. I sat thinking to myself as she continued to talk. No parent, I knew, expected or desired a child to be born anything less than perfect. This was really no different. This child needed a Daddy and Mommy to love him.

I looked over at my husband; he was grinning and said, That's not so bad, let's take him!" We talked it over with our children, and the following week we drove to the agency to meet our new little son.

We fell in love with him when we saw him, dimpled grin and all. He had been in foster care for two months because his biological father had not signed the adoption papers. He was now ready for adoption, but his foster family loved him so much they cried when we came for him. They told us stories of family prejudice at first, but said he had won all their hearts.

It is hard to say in words what a blessing and joy this baby has been to our family. His life could so easily have been snuffed out. Not only was he an unplanned pregnancy, he was considered a hard to place baby because he was both bi-racial and handicapped.

All he knows, however, is that he is at home where he is loved and appreciated. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and hear him laughing in his bed. When he first saw snow, he ran around our yard pointing up to the sky, laughing, saying, See, see!

I love to feel his chubby little arms wrapped around my legs as I cook supper. At night when I rock him to sleep and lay my face on his soft curls I praise God for sparing his life. He looks up with that dimpled grin, and big brown eyes as I sing to him, and he sings to me in his baby voice.

Yes, our son is handicapped, but his life is just as precious as any other child's. I often think how proud I am of his birth mom that she chose to give life to this precious little one. Her gift to him was the biggest she could have given him.

If there are heroines today who never receive glory, surely those who give birth to their babies rather than aborting them, must be among them. I pray for her with tears in my eyes and thankfulness in my heart for this child.