The first time I saw my sweet baby G he was 13 days old. I was working as a clown that night at a local restaurant when an (at the time) acquaintance (I will call her B for convenience) came in with a large party of people. I asked what they were doing and she said it was her husband's birthday and they were celebrating. Her explanation sounded reasonable to me; so I went about my business of playing with kids and tying balloons. (Yes, that is my one secret talent.)
To get the whole picture you must know that B worked with a local lawyer as a liaison arranging adoptions. Almost exactly one year before this day she had placed a child in our home. He was with us for one week. Georgia gives parents 10 days to change their mind. His birth mother changed her mind on the 9th day after signing her rights away. That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to face but that is another story for another day.
There had been not one lead on a child in the entire year following the loss of our precious J. We had almost resigned ourselves to the fact that God had answered our prayer, and that His answer was no, He would not send us another child. So, that night when this group came into the restaurant in high spirits I had no idea that I had already been the mother to another child for 18 hours.
The group was seated and began their celebration. Soon, B called me, J and T (who just happened to be eating there that night) to come over to her table. She said she had something to show me. She handed me a handmade card. The card said something about our plans, how they get changed, and on the inside it said, "Introducing God's New Plan." There was a picture of a tiny baby inside. Well, sometimes I have blonde moments and this was one of them. I just did not comprehend what she was telling me. The card even had Jeremiah 29:11 written inside, which says,"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."~ NLT. This was the verse that I had claimed when our first adoption fell through. Like I said, it was a blonde moment.
I looked at the picture of the baby and bubbled, "Well, that is a cute baby, whose is it?" She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said the words that forever changed my life, "He's yours if you want him. His parents' rights were terminated last night at midnight." Meer words cannot adequately describe the feeling I had at that moment. It was her husband's birthday but the real reason all those people had come to that restaurant that night was because they all wanted to see B when she gave me God's Plan, His wonderful gift.
Our sweet G was a preemie. His mother was not from the same city that we are and was not supposed to deliver at our local hospital. Because she was preterm and our local hospital was the closest hospital with a NICU she was sent here.
She didn't have a plan for her baby, but God did. She could not provide a home for him, but God could. At that moment this woman did probably the noblest thing she will ever do in her life; she gave her son to someone who could love him and take care of him the way he deserves. She didn't want DFACS to handle the adoption. So, she told the nurses that she wanted to contact a lawyer and arrange an adoption. The nurses brought her a list of local lawyers that arrange adoptions and she randomly picked the lawyer that had handled our adoption the year before.
B had waited the 10 days the state gives parents all alone. She worried, prayed and waited; carrying the burden all alone so that we would not be hurt again if things didn't work out. That is why everyone at the restaurant that night was so excited. Not many people get to witness such an awesome event and very few people are given such a precious gift.
So, after getting off from work that night, still dressed as a clown, I went to the hospital to see my new baby boy. I didn't hold him that night. I always said it was because I thought I might be coming down with something. The truth is, I think that I didn't want Scribbles to hold my baby before I did.
