One Baby's Journey by Shawn Hain

Recently I had the opportunity to walk through one of the hardest good things I have ever seen. I know how strange that sounds, I also have never been more at a loss for adjectives that would adequately describe a situation.
For me, it all started about eight months ago. We got a frantic call from a family who's single daughter was in a hospital. Complications from an attempted abortion had sent her to the hospital in another city. She never intended for anyone to know about the abortion, which was not completed. She decided to try again.

Without even knowing me, she said I could come along with her to her appointment at the abortion clinic. This appointment was an informational one. She would be informed about her choice, see an ultrasound of the baby and have a chance to ask questions. It was very eye-opening for me to see an abortion clinic in action and to hear their choice of words. For example the word "baby" was never used, instead the were simply going to "remove the pregnancy."
After she saw the ultrasound she decided, that since she was only around six weeks pregnant and the baby simply looked like a "blob" , that she was going to go through with it. It was heart-breaking watching her make the appointment for the abortion. But, I knew God in charge.
Four days after that appointment this girl called me, she had decided that she couldn't go through with it. Dave and I asked many people to pray, she had friends and family wanting her to reconsider and talking with her about it.

Here's where the story takes a very personal twist for me. Of the many things that Dave and I talked to this girl about, one of the things we told her was the story of my brother and his wife and their desperate desire to have a baby. After trying for five years to conceive through countless fertilty treatments they decided that adoption was their best option. When this young lady called me her exact words were, "I can't kill my baby, I want you brother and sister-in-law to have it." Amazingly, that same week was when my brother and sister-in-law were approved through their adoption agency, Bethany Christian Services.

Through this journey,I got to know this girl very well. It was really amazing watching someone who was used to focusing on herself begin to make some very selfless decisions. Through this journey I watched as a birthmother became more and more fond of the life growing inside her. She never wanted to be pregnant and have her life interupted like this and was very vocal about that. But, through her pregnancy she softned. It really was fun to watch her change and focus on her baby and his needs.

Well, as you can imagine this is where the really hard part comes in. On December 26, 2007 one fantastic little boy was born. This little boy has a lot of "family" to love him. My friend decided to care for the baby while she was in the hospital. Bittersweet is the only way to describe a time like that. For her this was the best hardest thing she has ever done. While in that hospital room she completely fell in love with her little boy. She fed him, cuddled him, loved on him, changed his diaper all the while knowing she was going to make an incredibly hard sacrifice to do what was best for him. She very graciously allowed his adopted Mom and Dad (my brother and sister-in-law) to visit their baby in her room.

On Saturday, his third day of life, one of the most incredible things happened to this cute little baby. There was a gathering of people just for him, some to say goodbye and some to welcome him into their family. All with an immense amount of love for that one special baby.
Although, his life was not planned by anyone on this earth, That little boy was not a mistake. He fits right into God's amazing plan for a family so desperately desiring him. And, this story is definately not finished God's connection between these two families has become very deep. What was never intended to be an open adoption has become one simply because of two family's love and deep respect for one another. We will just watch and see what incredible journey this little boy (my nephew) has begun.