Adoption and Reunion

I have an adult daughter in reunion with her birthparents, and another adult daughter waiting for a response for over three years now. That is part of the reason I am putting these articles here.

It is very important for adoptees to be able to have access to their medical history on both sides of their birth family. We share a lot, an entire lifetime, but MY health has little to do with their histories! Even if there is never any reunion, having access to their origins and updated medical history is very important. Just being able to know the 'why' from those who made the decision eases a lot of big gaps/holes in people's lives.

Many adults do genealogy searches, for personal reasons, or for their church work. Ancestry.com and other sites are online because of this fascination with our roots. Adoptees are no different. But again, MY family history is not entirely theirs. They were 'grafted in', just as Scripture says WE are as Christians...their history with us begins with the adoption, not with their birth. There is a whole part of their history missing...namely, how they came to be, where they came from.

The women interviewed in these articles (and the sidebars) speak to another side of the Adoption Triad. Those left wondering if they made the right decision, if their child is ok, if the 'children' are angry at the persons who made such an important decision so long ago, etc. It is important that they be able to know, also.

As an adoptive mother, I was also nosy. I wondered about both Karen and Liz, Roger and unnamed bfather for many years. I always hoped that my daughters would want to search so that I could meet the women who gave my daughters life, and thank them.

We have met one now, and we continue to pray for the opportunity to someday meet the other set of bparents. For those who know nothing of the Adoption Triad, of the longing that both (perhaps all three) sides experience, these articles may be an eye-opener. For those of us living as members of the Triad... they speak to deep needs.

God bless!!

Day 1: Tuesday
Decades later, women forced to give up their "illegitimate children" for adoption still feel the pain.
Day 2: Wednesday
Women recall the fear and shame of being sent away to give birth and return "as if it never happened."
Day 3: Today
Reunions put birth mothers and the children they gave away on an emotional roller coaster.


Karen and Roger, thank you! Liz, I hope to meet you (and D or R) someday, and also to say thank you! God bless all four of you!