A Year Ago..

A year ago, I comforted a beautiful friend of mine. She's further down the road in this journey called motherhood and I admire her greatly. She's the kind of friend that you can come to burdened and she picks you up, dusts you off, and sends you back out into the world. She gently gives advice. But she is no pushover. She is the kind of person that makes you want to be better, to walk closer to the Lord and to be a more patient mother.

And I've never met her in person. *gasp* I know! (Yet! Yet! I hope to change that this summer!) She is a fellow MOMYS (Mothers of Many Young Siblings, a fabulous site for Christian mothers of large families) and we've talked a good bit over the years online and even on the phone.

Anyway, back to a year ago. A year ago, we were both pregnant. I went for my ultrasound and it was uneventful. She went for an ultrasound and found out that she was expecting a baby girl that had a hole in her heart and later found out that she has Down Syndrome. She named her precious baby, Verity, which means Truth. (Oh... how the Lord speaks through names! Her name was chosen before her ultrasound appointment.)

My family has had the great pleasure of praying for Joe and Susanna, Verity and her other children. And now we have added their adoption prayer needs to our list.

But this post isn't about me and what I've done. This post is about what God has done. God has made Susanna an amazingly effective advocate for children with Down Syndrome and now her family is completing the process to internationally adopt another precious girl with Down Syndrome.

Why does she advocate?

Trust me, it isn't because she doesn't already have enough to do in her day.

You see, in America, 90+% of children with Down Syndrome are aborted and not given a chance to live. That number blows my mind and literally sucks the air out of my lungs. As a pro-life, Christian mother of four, it sickens me.

In other countries, almost all the children with Down Syndrome are placed for adoption, if they are not aborted. And if no one adopts them by the age of 5, they "age out."(Remember my "The Orphan Books" post?) They are taken from their "baby house" (orphanage) and institutionalized. A staggering amount of these precious children die within the first 2 years of their move.

Five.years.old.

My Julianne turns five this June.

A birthday that is highly looked forward to here (hey.. a whole hand is a big deal around our house!) is a terrible event in other countries.

Can you imagine someone giving up on you at FIVE? It nauseates me.

I didn't mean for this to be this long but as you can tell I'm disgusted at the treatment of the children. Statistics like this are the things that my nightmares are made of.

I really wanted to link you to her blog and encourage you to read what she wrote about what she wishes knew a year ago. It is important and life changing. It is the Truth. And when you look at the video you will see exactly what she is talking about. (Yes, the video is safe for young eyes that you may have in the room with you.)

Father, I love you. I have been watching this story unfold for a little over a year now.... and I've watched with anticipation and excitement. I know that each baby You knit is fearfully and wonderfully made, just as You tell us in Your Word. I am thankful for little Verity. She has already touched so many lives in her 7 months of life and opened so many eyes to You! Lord, strengthen my friend, Susie. Give Joe and Susanna wisdom as they are on this journey to adopt. Comfort their hearts as they wait for the paperwork to be done and the process to be completed. Protect their future daughter as she waits for her forever family! Thank you for connecting us. You've chosen some amazing friends for me, in Your wisdom. Open the world's eyes, Lord, open their eyes to the truth. Amen.

~Steph