November is Adoption Awareness Month
Next Step PRC has always had a heart for adoption.
We refer our adoption-minded clients, as well as families who are seeking to adopt, to an agency called Lifetime Adoption. Lifetime offers many resources for pregnant women considering adoption; they have a 24/7 hotline for women with questions about adoption, they can help a woman in crisis find a safe place to stay if necessary, and they offer compassionate counseling and support. They have walked with thousands of adoptive families and birth mothers through the adoption process, and we are confident that when we send someone their way, Lifetime will be a valuable help along their journey. Next Step’s role will always be to continue walking with our clients through whatever they decide, and Lifetime Adoption Agency is a valuable resource that can make all the difference for those considering adoption.
In the children’s book, “Adopting a Family for You” by Brenda Buchanan Saltzer, it tells the story of a birth mother, who, out of sacrifice and love, chooses to place her baby for adoption. While we know every birth mother’s story is different, we want to recognize the piece of adoption that holds so much loss and heartbreak while also celebrating the good that can come from it.
We believe there is space for both grief and joy in the adoption story.
We don’t celebrate the loss, but we acknowledge it while finding joy in the love, connection and hope that adoption brings. Saltzer writes from the birth mother’s point of view:
“Long before your first wiggle or giggle, before you were born, I made up my mind to give you all that true love could give. To make only the very best decisions when it came to making decisions for you. To place the rest of your story in safekeeping, in the very best place I could find… You never know what you can do until you love someone more than you love yourself. When you have that kind of love, then only what’s best is good enough.”
If you would like to talk with someone about adoption options, please contact Next Step PRC.
We’d love to connect you to helpful resources and walk with you on this journey.
“An adoption decision was the most loving care that I could provide for my son. He needed a stable, loving home and I gave him that.”
“I was given a chance to excel and be provided for in ways that my birth family couldn’t provide... I have no feelings of anger or abandonment. I love their courageous, loving decision.”
“Give your child a chance to live the life God intended... to love and be loved.”