Journey to Mya Grace

I have one of the absolute best jobs in the world! This weekend confirmed it. Don't get me wrong --- I complain about the pay, the lack of benefits and sometimes, the hours, but I got a brand new perspective this weekend.

On Saturday evening, I took my three children with me to Bluegrass Field to welcome the Morris family home. Kaywood and Debbie Morris, along with their son, Dalton, left Lexington, Kentucky a little over two weeks ago to take a life changing trip to The People's Republic of China. Yesterday, they were all smiles as they came down the escalator holding their beautiful daughter from China, a family of four, a family complete!

I have known Kaywood and Debbie since high school and I'm very close to Debbie's sister, Susan, as we cheered together years ago for the Garrard County Golden Lions. Susan was so anxious on Saturday night to be reunited with her family. She missed her sister, her nephew and her brother-in-law terribly while they were gone and she was super excited to meet her new niece. I was having a wonderful time taking pictures for Susan and I enjoyed watching their hugs, tears, reunion and meeting.

Once Mya Grace had been properly introduced to all of her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandfather, I did something that I did not intend to do. I wanted to meet Miss Mya Grace, but I planned only to rub her arms and her back and using my softest, most soothing "baby-talk" voice, to say "Hi, Mya! It is so nice to finally meet you." I couldn't. Going against all advice I give as a Parent Education Coordinator for adoptive families, I took her out of another person's arms, and held her. She looked directly into my eyes and I looked directly into hers and I began to cry. I was completely overwhelmed by the emotions I had for this 19 month old Chinese angel.

The eyes I was looking into, were the same eyes that had looked at me from a photo almost a year ago. Through my work as Special Needs Coordinator for A Helping Hand Adoption Agency, I look at many children each month who are placed on a shared list by the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). The majority of these children are little girls and all of the children added to this list have a special medical need. Some of the children have minor needs and others have multiple and/or severe needs. ALL of these children need homes - all of these children deserve to be loved by a family.

Last summer, the Morris family contacted me and began asking lots of questions about adoption. By December, their home study was complete and they were ready to begin searching for a child. About the same time, I saw a little girl on the list who caught my eye with one of the sweetest faces I had ever seen and believe me, I see a lot of sweet faces. By the beginning of 2010, Debbie and Kaywood were finishing up their paperwork to make this sweet baby girl part of their forever family - this little girl would be their Mya Grace. Fast forward through the difficult months of waiting and they finally arrived home last night to begin their life at home together.

My job is not always wonderful. I work with families through the frustrating paperchase, I encourage them through the difficult waiting phase, I sometimes have to give bad news to families and occasionally help them through a grieving process. Personally, it's sometimes difficult to look at hundreds of files of children with severe disfigurements and disabilities. Looking at children, knowing they will NEVER have a forever family either because they will not live long enough to be united with a family, will age out of the system before their family can be found, or they have too severe of a special need to be adopted by a family. I realized long ago that I cannot get attached to these children. I cannot look into their eyes, because looking into their eyes, takes me into their soul. I know it is not possible for me to find families for all of these children but I know God has blessed me to become part of an important ministry placing as many as possible.

In my heart, I know that God is ultimately in control of placing families together. He knows which children will be placed on the CCAA's list in any given month. He knows which families are paper-ready to be matched. He knows the who, what, when, where and why and He uses me and our agency as a tool to put these families together. Sometimes the match doesn't work out but even then, I know God has a plan. I have told families before who have had to decline a referral for whatever reason that I don't know why God put a child into their path but that He has a plan in all situations. Many times, I believe it is God's plan that the family know a particular child exists in China. Knowing the child exists opens up the ability to pray personally for that child. To have others pray for that child - families, churches, communities. That particular child can be lifted up to God by his or her Chinese name. The child may have never been prayed for before, but now can be. Knowing there are hundreds and hundreds of orphaned children in China, families sometimes learn of one child who lives in a particular orphanage in one of the many provinces in China. They learn the specific needs of that child - physical, mental, emotional, financial and spiritual needs. They can lift this child up to God and make a personal request on behalf of this child. That has to mean something!

Mya Grace Morris is one of those children whose eyes I did look into - God wanted me to see something in her soul. God knew Mya Grace while He knitted her in her biological mother's womb. He knew that Kaywood and Debbie Morris would raise her as their own daughter. He coordinated Mya's file being placed on the shared list around the same time that Kaywood and Debbie were paper-ready to be matched. The first time I saw Mya's sweet face, I immediately thought of Debbie and Kaywood Morris. It was no coincidence. God orchestrated that! That's how He works and it is amazing when you can stand back and see how all things work to the Glory of God!

I've met several of the children whom I have had a role in placing with families but this is the first time that I have seen it all come full circle. From the beginning thinking about it stage, through all the paperwork and waiting, to finally arriving home, has been an eye opening experience. From looking into the eyes on a computer screen to actually holding, hugging, touching, and finally making real eye contact with the same baby, has truly been an amazing journey - one that has made me realize one of the many purposes I have on this Earth.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the Journey to Mya Grace :-)



**** NOTE: I am an adoptive mommy myself and I have my own adoption testimony that I will share soon. This was a different experience - a different perspective - one I wanted to share.