CHeryl's Story

My name is Cheryl and my husband, lover, and best friend is Jack.  We have been married for 43 years and have 3 daughters.  Two of our daughters grew under my heart and one grew in it.  When we first got married Jack and I talked about a family.  My vision was far greater than his...I wanted 13 children, he wanted no more than a few...no actual number.  Our first daughter was born 10 months and 10 days after we were married.  After a very difficult pregnancy and equally difficult delivery she arrived at 8 pounds 13 ounces 20 inches long...we were ecstatic!  However, later that morning my doctor came in and informed us that because of all the pregnancy and delivery complications, we would more than likely never become pregnant again and if I did, I wouldn't be able to carry the baby to term.  We were devastated!  Over the next couple years we lost two babies so it seemed like the doctor was right...but the wisdom of man is foolishness to our great God.  Four years, four hours and four minutes later, we welcomed our second daughter...at six pounds, 10 ounces, and 19 inches long.   A few years went by and we desperately longed for another child and I was never able to become pregnant again nor did I feel that I could handle another devastating loss.  Friends and family told us, "You have two, be satisfied."  We were, but...we knew God was tugging our hearts in invest our lives in the life of another child.  As children of God we are all recipients of adoption as we are adopted into the family of God...it is not a birth right, as a matter of fact, it is a "death right"...our adoption is because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Because of His sacrifice, we are adopted into the family of God when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.  Now for our daughter's adoption story...after a failed attempt at adopting, we became aware of a little girl who was in a very dangerous and life-threatening environment.  We first met Heather when she was two months old, fell in love with her, our girls fell in love with her,  and we believed she was the answer to our prayers for another child.  The neglect was very evident...she had the worst diaper rash I have ever seen, she weighed about seven pounds, and she was very lethargic.  She spent a week with us and the time came to take her back to her birth mother.  Before I could do that, I met with her birth mother and asked her to relinquish custody to us.  She told me she would not do that as she received welfare benefits and Heather was her "Party Money".  We had to take her back and to be honest...I questioned God.  But we continued to pray and now we prayed specifically for this little girl.  Fast forward a few months.  I was at work and received a call that Heather had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition.  I went to the hospital, the birth mother was nowhere to be found.  Heather was about 8 pounds by now and she was six months old!  A couple weeks went by, we visited almost daily and never saw the birth mother .  Finally the doctor's diagnosed Heather with "Failure to Thrive Syndrome".  They were the words we had been waiting for as we knew that the diagnosis would finally be the catalyst to remove Heather's custody from her birth mother.  That was ironically on a Sunday afternoon November 4 - The Lord's Day and the hearing to remove custody from her birth mother and place her with us was on Wednesday November 7- Prayer Meeting day!  Heather actually went to church before she ever came home!  That evening our associate pastor announced that Heather was back with us and asked for donations of baby clothes and baby items...they poured in to the point that the next Sunday, we asked him to thank everyone and announce that we did not need anything else!  Heather's adoption was finalized two years later on November 4 - two years later!  Through our adoption journey we learned many things...God knows the plans He has for all of you...Jeremiah 29:11,  Prayer works..."For this child we prayed and the Lord heard us",  and probably the hardest part...waiting..."They that wait upon the Lord WILL mount up with wings as eagles..."  today our oldest daughter is married with two children and is a successful business owner, our second daughter worked in ministry for many years and has three children, Heather currently works in children's ministry at our church...I often wonder what would have happened to her if God had not intervened through the avenue of adoption.  I don't know you but I am praying for you as you embark on this awesome journey called ADOPTION.   ​