Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2018

PERFECT FIT BY BRIAN BURNS ’95 Cedarville’s Director of Campus Experience Knew Exactly Where He Belonged On June 21, 1973, my parents, Bruce and Jeanie Burns, were in Florida enjoying one last vacation before I was born. A call came from Indiana to let them know that I had arrived and would be delivered to my granny and papaw. Growing up, I do not remember when my parents told me that I was adopted. I know that I do remember they called me their gift from the Lord, and I always knew that I was wanted. They loved me and my sister, Lisa, who was also adopted, in every way — praise, encouragement, and discipline. SURE AND SECURE I never had a period of doubt until after high school and college when people started asking me, “What’s it like being adopted?” At the time, I was a house parent at Joy Ranch Home for Children in Hillsville, Virginia, working with more than 20 high school kids, some of whom had experienced failed adoptions. I began to wonder, “Should I know more?” I asked my parents, and they shared letters with me from my biological parents and told me about the circumstances around my birth. I thank my biological parents for giving me the gift of life and placing me in the home God knew I needed to be in. A lot of times in adoption, there’s an insecurity when other people ask about it. But I didn’t experience that in my home. I knew where I stood. And if I stepped out of line, I knew there would have been consequences. Sometimes you’ll hear people differentiate between their adopted and their biological children. My parents didn’t do that. I have a younger brother, Matthew, whom my mom gave birth to. My younger brother looks more like my dad, but I act more like him. There was no difference between any of us in our parents’ sight. We were all gifts from God to them. PERFECT FIT Growing up in a pastor’s home was a blast. I can remember playing hide- and-go-seek at church while Dad worked on his sermon. I remember youth events we sponsored in the community and getting to know other people and Cedarville Magazine | 13