Given Son and The Mother

I have a great story I heard from Rachel, a mom I met at the Children's Museum this last week, about Given Son, the happy boy she's adopting from Haiti.  I'd love to share it with you and if you've seen me this last week, I probably already have- it's made that much of an impact on me.

The way Rachel told this story was full of truth and grace.  There wasn't a whiff of denial.  She knew every diagnosis and consequence and talked about what survivors Haitians are.  She's been there for every one of his 8 surgeries in 18 months and she spoke of his once-in-a-generation special visa which allowed him medical care at Mayo.  She spoke of the birth mother who left him at the hospital and of how much she had loved him to give him up hoping that strangers could and would do for her Given Son what she couldn't.  At 21 months he is still struggling to swallow but he'd get it.  She glowed as she told me how he runs around home signing "happy boy, happy boy."

This child was not a pathetic case to her- not a slow child, developmentally delayed, deaf, small for his age, and unable to swallow.  He was miraculous.  He was a survivor.  He was happy.  He would learn to swallow like he had learned everything else- a little late, but he'd get there.  She knows he's a special child who has a special gift to give the world and she's doing everything she can to help him give it.  She is absolutely in love with this kid and bursting with pride.

As I was repeating this story to Angela and Megan, I said, "I want someone to tell my story like this."

Angela replied, "I do, too, but even more, I want to learn to tell my own story like this."

That's it exactly.  I want to be both The Mother and the Given Child.
I want to change my posture and tell my story this way full of truth and grace.