Inner Strength

Recently I've been reminded of how good I've had it in my lifetime. I've never really had anything traumatic or exceptionally bad happen. My heart just goes out to those women that have been TTC (trying to conceive) for a long time, who've lost a loved one, or who've had an unfaithful partner, among many other things. But, for something that's hit close to home- Z's oldest sister has a heart condition and wasn't expected to live past her teen years (she's 28), and because of it she has to take an oxygen tank with her if she travels anywhere far away, can't walk up a lot of stairs, can't have children.. the list goes on. So she and her husband decided to adopt. If you know anything about the adoption process- it's a rediculously long and complicated one. (Sidenote: Baby Mamas don't have to take parenting classes or pass any test, but well established adults that want to adopt have to jump through hoops to do it??? Please..) Well, their social worker found a pregnant woman in jail that was thinking of giving her child up for adoption when it was born. So said sister and husband drove 2 hours to see her in jail several times, and the mom decides she wants them to adopt the baby. Oh- the dad is black, mom is white. The mom says that if the baby is biracial she doesn't want anything to do with it, and if it's white, she might want it.. Last week the baby is born and Z's sister is in the delivery room with her because all her family are druggies, in jail, or just plain old don't care. Note: Moms have 3 days after birth to decide if they want the baby or not. Sister and husband are super supportive to the mom, and stay up there (2 Hrs. away from home) for the three days only to find out that the mom isn't letting them adopt the child. She wants it put in foster care thinking that her mom will be able to get it. Yeah right- her mom has a criminal record too, along with the rest of the family. So the poor child that could have had an awesome Christian home to grow up in, is now stuck in the less than desirable foster care system. Z's sister was heartbroken, along with her husband. But wow.. she was so strong through the whole process. I talked with her every time there was an update, and she was just giving everything to God, and releasing her anger. I'm so proud of her. That's real strength, people.. She's been so strong through everything in her life. People like her just don't get enough credit. Anyway, your prayers for her and her husband would be appreciated! Here's to J&L: