This is What I Know

This is what I know - People make mistakes. Consequences are inevitable and oftentimes they can be painful. When we mess up, we'd like nothing better than to move on, forget the past, and continue living without suffering the inevitable consequences. But that's not life.

This is what I know - My adopted son was a mistake. The day he was conceived, he became equal amounts baby and consequence. As he grew each day in his young mother's womb, the world around him was waging war -- not for land or money or power, but for the heartbeat that pounded life through his little chest.

This is what I know - Some people wanted to eliminate his life. They didn't see his existence as a choice that had already been made, instead they weighed his value in terms of a choice that was yet to be made. They didn't see a self-inflicted consequence that needed to be faced, only an unjust punishment that should be avoided at any cost.

This is what I know - Some people refuse to see beyond the immediate. To these people, the value of my son's smile, his laughter, the way he kicks excitedly when I pick him up from his naps, were once on equal footing with a girl's impulsive decision to avoid the inherent consequence of a choice she already made. Because he was of no value to them, in their eyes, he had no value at all.

This is what I know - We almost lost him. Twice. The constant drumbeat of what some call a woman's right to choose almost cost the world a beautiful child. This young mother sat in the waiting room of an abortion clinic two separate times. Each time she felt a tugging inside -- a voice almost -- that told her not to take the easy way out. We realize now with great gratitude that the tugging was done on our behalf.

This is what I know - Some people saw a promise, not a punishment. Instead of telling her the fairytale that she could make it all just go away, they encouraged this young mother to turn her mistake into someone else's blessing. They didn't remove the consequence, they taught her how to find a way to make the best out of the outcome she brought upon herself. That is what life is about. Before we were ever in the picture, these people saved the life of my unborn son.

This is what I know - In a world where hundreds of thousands of couples long to have the opportunity to adopt and make an unwanted child a part of their family, advocating abortion is possibly one of the cruelest social views one can have -- both to the child and to potential parents.

This is what I know - We may never conceive a child. Because of people who could see beyond the superficial morality of our day, and because the birth mom ultimately listened to the tugging inside her, our inability to get pregnant became a non-issue in our journey to have a child. We have been blessed by someone else's biggest mistake -- and we couldn't be happier about it.