The road is never smooth. It winds and dips. Sometimes there are hills so steep we aren’t sure we’ll reach the top, or the path is so dark that we have to slow down to a crawl, squint and search what just in front of us for a glimmer of light. Sometimes we hit a dead end and must double back and find a new road. 

Every adoption is heartbreaking and also a miracle. What an honor it is to the see bravery and faith that it takes an expectant parent, not to give up their child, but to entrust such a gift to someone else. To say to a family “I love her, she’s yours now.” And for the family to say back, “No. She’s ours. You are a critical part of her story forever. No matter what.”

A healthy adoption honors the whole story. The terrible, painful, traumatic parts. And the joy. So much love and pain intermingled.

It’s most acute in the first days, but I think it’s always there. It doesn’t just happen. And when it does, it’s bittersweet. 

In one day, dreams come true, and also hearts break. One little life creates a bridge to two new paths that otherwise never would have merged. 

What a gift it is to get to stand as a witness. To empower and encourage both parties ... to hold hands and hearts as they begin to step out on a new road, changed forever.