It was never a secret from my siblings or me that I was adopted. I always knew. My parents told me from the beginning that although I wasn't their flesh and blood, I was most definitely their child. I was five weeks old when my parents brought me home to live with them forever. This makes me sound like a rescue puppy, and when I think about it, indeed I was rescued. My older brother, Russ, was six and, as stories go, "was thrilled to have the most beautiful baby girl in the world" as his sister. He was wise beyond his years.
When I played with my sister (who came along 11 months later) and felt I needed an
advantage, I would say things like, "well, you were just born-ed, and I
was adopted." My sister would run to mom, crying, "I want to be
adopted too," having no idea what she was begging for but convinced it
must be something magical.
For a time, mom and dad affectionately called me their little rented baby. This
phrasing would undoubtedly be frowned upon in current society, but it was a
sweet term of endearment in the late 1960s. I know without a doubt there are no
two people on earth who could have loved me better or more than the pair I
called mom and dad.
Medical reasons prevented my parents from having other children, which prompted them
to consider adopting. There is a spiritual principle laid out in the Bible that
says we will reap what we sow. And I've heard this testimony from others –
after adopting a child, they then conceive a child of their own. And that is
what happened in our family. Eleven months after adopting me came the first
sister, then seven years later my second sister. God knew what He was doing in
putting together this family of four siblings. There were times when it didn't always look and feel like there was much going on between us, but a solid rock foundation was being
built that would hold us together after our parents left this world. I cannot
imagine growing up with any other parents or any other brother and sisters.
I haven't always been okay with being adopted. I have experienced many emotions
along the way ranging from feeling chosen, rejected, treasured, neglected, wanted,
thrown away, given away, and the list goes on.
This blog will delve deeper into those emotions as I tell you my journey from being the rented baby to the daughter of a King.
