Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2018

ADOPTION: THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL BY THOMAS WHITE Whether good or bad, extreme emotions were the order of the day as we pulled into the lawyer’s office. Birth parents, for all the right reasons, had determined to put their daughter up for adoption, but we wondered if they would change their minds. The birth parents walked into one room while the receptionist led us into another. In yet a third room, representatives from the law office carried an 8-pound, five-week-old, blue-eyed, strawberry blonde baby girl. She had no relationship to us on that early, Florida morning and a different last name. Two hours felt like an eternity as the hands of time moved in slow motion within the round-faced clock — one reverberating tick after another. Eventually, the large wooden door opened. Time, and my heart with it, stood still. Confident our heavenly Father knew our destiny, but supremely aware that we did not, nerves and anxiety filled the room like a dense fog. Finally, we learned all was going well and began to sign document after document before the paralegal disappeared behind a closed door. More waiting ensued. I nervously paced back and forth, heightening the emotion in the room. When the door opened again, all I could see was that same baby girl being brought to us. I’ll never forget looking into her bright blue eyes. Not being an experienced father, I applied the only knowledge I had to the situation. Coach always told me to cover the tip of the ball, tuck it in tight, and don’t fumble. This little life was about the same size, so I did just what coach said. My palm covered the back of her head and, of course, the tip “of the ball”; I tucked her in tight to my side, and wasn’t dare about to fumble. The White Family (L-R): Rachel, 13; their German shepherd, Duchess; Joy; Samuel, 6; and Thomas Cedarville Magazine | 3