I cannot tell you the joy and the grateful thoughts that I have had for many years for Karen and Liz, Roger and unknown bfather of my two daughters. But I have tried! I can relate to the couple toward the end of this video, EASILY!
I have spoken to my daughters over the years, and I KNOW that they can relate to the words of Mark Schultz! I have also spoken to Karen and Roger. Karen, for sure, understands this song, and Roger cried when he held her long ago as he told her the he, too, wanted the best for her.
Schultz stated in
an interview:
Schultz feels that being adopted causes him to appreciate life more. "I don't take anything for granted. I wake up in the morning and thank God that I'm alive. Adoption is such a gift."
Remembering his birthmother
That reality especially hit home when Schultz was doing a benefit concert for Bethany Christian Services. When an adoption worker asked about his birthmother, he replied that it didn't seem like his birthmother wanted him.
"The woman said that if my birthmother had chosen abortion, I wouldn't even be having this conversation," Schultz says. "She reminded me that my birthmother carried me for nine months and made the hardest decision in her life, giving me to a family who could love me and give me the opportunities she couldn't. She said my birthmother thought about me and not herself."
That prodded Schultz to write "Everything to Me," since he realized he was finally ready to approach the subject in song.
"Until then, I hadn't thought it through all the way, and I wasn't mature enough," he says. "I also wasn't sure how my parents would take it. I didn't want them to think that I don't consider them my real parents, because they are my real parents. I think the song not only thanks my birthmother, but it also thanks my parents. They are such a godly influence and such great people.
"I played the song for my [adoptive] mom after I wrote it, and as we were listening to it, she grabbed my hand. Her face turned red and she was trying to keep the tears from running down her face. When we got out of the car, she gave me a big hug and wouldn't let me go. It was really special."
The lyrics sent to me differ slightly from the video, but they are powerful both ways! See below:
Everything To Me
(Mark Schultz and Cindy Morgan)
I must have felt your tears
When they took me from your arms
I’m sure I must have heard you say goodbye
Lonely and afraid had you made a big mistake
Could an ocean even hold the tears you cried
But you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And you made the only choice you could that night
(Chorus)
You gave life to me
A brand new world to see
Like playing baseball in the yard with dad at night
Mom reading Goodnight Moon
And praying in my room
So if you worry if your choice was right
You gave me up but you gave everything to me
And if I saw you on the street
Would you know that it was me
And would your eyes be blue or green like mine
Would we share a warm embrace
Would you know me in your heart
Or would you smile and let me walk on by
Knowing you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And I hope that you’d be proud of who I am
(Chorus)
You gave life to me
A chance to find my dreams
And a chance to fall in love
You should have seen her shining face
On our wedding day
Oh is this the dream you had in mind
When you gave me up
You gave everything to me
And when I see you there
Watching from heaven’s gates
Into your arms
I’m gonna run
And when you look in my eyes
You can see my whole life
See who I was
And who I’ve become
(Chorus)
© 2006 Crazy Romaine Music
(Adm. By The Loving Company) / Word Music, LLC /
Lola Max Music (ASCAP) (Adm. by Word
Music, LLC
Labels: Adoptee, Adoption, Adoption Triad, Adoptive Parent, Birthfather, Birthmother, Birthparent, Choices, Life, Mom, National Adoption Month, Pro-Life, Right to Life, Son
