Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
“I wasn’t born”
Life with Talitha — part 5
As long as I have a memory, I will know what date it was that Talitha learned what a birth mother is.
On a bitter, freezing January 22–in 2001–we stood with thousands of others outside the Minnesota Capitol, rallying for Life.
Talitha pointed to the line drawing on a poster raised high in the distance. “Look, there’s a picture of a baby being born–like baby Elizabeth!” I could see it was really a sketch of a partial birth abortion, but she didn’t need to know yet the horrors of that.
So I picked up the flow of her thought. “Yes, like your little friend. And like you.”
She quickly corrected me, “I wasn’t born. I was adopted.”
I had been thinking for a while it was time to expect questions from Talitha about her birth. Adoption was an everyday word and concept in our family, but we hadn’t yet talked about one very important person to whom we owe great gratitude.
Question or no, now was the time. And so on the stately steps of the capitol, I stooped to look into her eyes. “Talitha, first you were born and then you were adopted.” I explained that she had grown inside another woman–her birth mother–who could have chosen abortion, but instead protected her and gave birth to her.
Talitha carried home a “Choose Life” poster and put it in her bedroom window.
Today I thank God for the woman who gave birth to our beloved Talitha.
__________
For many of us, being pro-life has changed our families through adoption. A couple of years ago I wrote a series of blog posts telling our adoption story. It begins here.
A follow-up series, Life with Talitha, begins here.
5 Responses to ““I wasn’t born””
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Loving that T was born and adopted and growing up a part of our larger community. Slightly mushy as I consider all the blessings God has brought to BBC through adoption over the past 20 years…
Not only born, but days written before we are born!
Oh how precious this is to me. I long for the knock on our door,or however the Lord would choose to usher in a child for us to adopt!
I love this…especially the last line.
Someday we’ll most likely have this conversation as well.
I hadn’t even thought about our Lydi not understanding that she also was born first…then adopted.