Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2018

On the flip side, when the match is good, adoption is a beautiful process to facilitate. “I love when a match is good, when the adoptive parents open their hearts to the birth mom and make her part of their family,” she said. Taylor cited the example of family friends who have an exceptional relationship with their child’s birth mom. “She’s really become part of their lives,” she explained. “She’s a hairdresser who lives on her own and she’s pretty successful. She comes to birthday parties, goes to events, and even cuts the kids’ hair. When you see them succeed and move on, that’s pretty rewarding.” DIVINE DESIGN While working with expectant moms might be a stretch for some personalities, for Taylor it goes back to her divine design. She’s known it since she was a little girl. “My mom has a journal of mine from when I was 11 or 12 that says I wanted to adopt and work with orphans,” Taylor said. “I’ve always wanted to be a social worker and work with kids. That’s always been my passion since I was very, very young. I always feel this has been a calling from God.” “God has given me a talent to work with people,” she continued. “I’m super social, and I can relate and empathize with almost anyone. I’m very, very open and transparent.” She followed that calling to Cedarville, where she earned a degree in social work. After graduation, she worked as a case worker for several years. When she and her husband, Eric ’97, began having children, she started looking into the adoption field. She worked for Adoption Link, Inc., a Yellow Springs, Ohio-based agency, from 2004 till 2006, and currently works part time for American Adoptions. She is also a student advocate with Bentonville High School in Bentonville, Arkansas, coming alongside at-risk students who may not graduate because of behavior, grades, or poor attendance. For those who may have difficulty imagining a job such as Taylor’s, her work with teens at her children’s high school has been much more taxing. “It’s 10 times harder than working with birth moms,” she affirmed. “I’ve worked with a lot of troubled kids and the hardest part is many of them have no boundaries.” “Working with birth moms and adoptive parents, they’re making all these choices based on what’s best for the child. I feel so fulfilled.” Clem Boyd is Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine . “I love when a match is good, when the adoptive parents open their hearts to the birth mom and make her part of their family” Jazmin (Gmuer) Taylor ’97 and her husband, Eric ’97, with their children, William, Thomas, and Melissa. Cedarville Magazine | 17