The Gores

Walking home from the Social Service Department trying to move forward with Jolee’s adoption, I told Romon that most days I look at Jolee and the thought that she is “adopted” doesn’t even cross my mind. The days that it does cross my mind, I feel bad. I am proud of this fact. Now to explain why I felt bad. I felt bad because I do not want her to grow up being the “adopted” child.

I try my best to give Jolee and Jalynne equal attention while not overdoing it and excluding one. It’s tough, but I wonder how parents feel with two children they birthed?

Romon replied that he wants us to celebrate her being adopted. We will not hide this part of her life. I began to think, what a great way to explain the love and goodness of God to her, and how he has a plan for us all.

Here are just a few questions that have crossed my mind as an adoptive parent:

Would Jolee be alive today?

Where would Jolee be today?

Would her home have been an orphanage?

Or would she have had parents, and a family?

Would her “family” be able to love her the way we do?

What was I thinking when I, in fear, thought about saying I couldn’t be her mother?

What is God’s great plan for Jolee’s future?

We pray for our girls and pray that we are able to demonstrate Christ in our lives so much that when the girls are older they will not depart from God’s words, from His ways. I thank God for His perfect plan. I thank God for a husband that would not even imagine saying no to a child, to a gift we all know as Jolee.

-Melinda

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2009 was a year that changed our lives. It was the year we decided to become full time missionaries. It was also the year we met little Miss “B”. She was not even a year old. I changed her dirty diapers and fed her. I worked with her until she learned to sit up on her own and experimented on her hair with a few cute hair styles. She loved Romon, wanting to be carried by him every time he stepped through the orphanage doors. He made her smile bigger than I had ever seen her smile. We could play the temporary role of her parents, but we could never be her parents.

Fast forward 2 years, little B now walks,  feeds herself, and goes to the bathroom all by herself. Up until last week, it was the House of Dreams orphanage, it’s workers, volunteers, and supporters who took care of this precious girl. We say one final good bye to her and aaaaaaah, at last she is now where she belongs…with her parents. Adoption is a beautiful, selfless act. We are so thankful to families who are willing to become parents to a child they didn’t birth, love them unconditionally, expecting no reward or recognition in return. God is good!
 My Child (Meditations of a New Mom) by Jill Work

My child,
I carried you in my heart before you were even born and dared to dream that you were real. My child,
I carried your picture with me since the day I received it, and dared to love a child I was yet to meet.

My child,
I carried you in my arms at last, and gazed in helpless wonder at your face, and dared to lose my heart to you. And now, my child, a dream fulfilled, a prayer answered, a family created, I have dared to become a mom. And so now, my precious child, I shall carry you home.

We thank God for his perfect plan for B’s life. We thank HIM for having us right where he wants us and for giving us the opportunity to influence this child’s life in a small way. We are rejoicing!

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