She said to me that everyone had told her to have an abortion—then her eyes veered away from the newborn baby in the crib beside her. I could feel the sting of her words as they rolled off her lips and the tears began to swell in her eyes.
I walked over to the hospital bed and gently put my hand on her arm as tears rolled down my cheeks.
“But you didn’t,” I said, my words trembling with every breath. “You didn’t because you’re brave and you love her. And you didn’t because you have given us one of the greatest gifts we will ever know.”
As an adoptive mother, I have the blessing of experiencing love that didn’t grow in my body, but rather was birthed through my
heart. It is a love as deep and powerful as the love I imagine my Savior has for me. But as an adoptive mother, I have also experienced the profound and sometimes complicated love
that exists with my daughter’s first mama. That love is unique and possibly unlike any I have known. It is deep gratitude, deep sorrow,
and deep admiration all rolled into one.
In my role with Christian Adoption Services (CAS), a ministry of Baptist Children’s Homes (BCH), as well as in my personal journey, I
have watched God work as He weaves together lives in the most remarkable ways. However, I have also seen a side of adoption that many don’t realize exists.
For 42 years, CAS has been ministering to expectant mothers and bringing families together. One of the greatest blessings of that
work is being in relationship with birth mothers—both during their pregnancies and after.
An often unrealized facet to our ministry is that when an expectant mother reaches out to make an adoption plan. Part of that plan is
ensuring the mother is in a stable living situation. In some instances, steps are taken to provide that safe-home until she gives birth.
But, what happens after the baby is born and the mother has physically but not emotionally healed?
Sadly, many of those birth moms return to unstable living situation. For years, this fact has haunted CAS. We have built a strong post-placement ministry for our birth moms and maintain a deep connection after their child is born. Each year, events are held where we minister to birth mothers and guide them through the
grief process. In the past five years alone, we have seen multiple birth moms accept Christ through these events. However, we are the first to admit that a few events are not enough for some of these precious women. That is about to change.
Through a generous lead gift from Chris and Darci Horne, given in
memory of their dear friend Emmanuel, “The Emmanuel Home” will change the way we care for birth moms after they have placed their child into the arms of another family.
The Emmanuel Home will open in 2022 as a fully-staffed, care house where birth mothers can live post-placement while working
through grief, learning coping mechanisms, exploring life skills, working a job, receiving counseling, and furthering their education—all in the context of a nurturing Christian environment. The home, located in Thomasville, will care for up to five women and each woman will be in care for approximately ten months.
The goal is to provide these courageous women with a season of intentional growth as they walk through the emotional grief which
comes with placing a child for adoption. CAS and BCH desire to stand in the gap for these ladies and be a daily reminder of their Savior who loves them more deeply than any person ever could.
To learn more about The Emmanuel Home and how you can be a partner, contact Cyndie Truax at ctruax@bchfamily.org or 518-424-1890.
Written by Cyndie Truax, BCH Director of Marketing, Development & Special Initiatives
THIS is beautiful. I’m a birthmom and I work with birthmoms post adoption. What a necessary and valuable service! It makes me so happy to see services like this come to fruition. Very few people are willing to acknowledge the necessity. This can be a model for others on HOW post adoption support can and should look. I’d love to learn more.