Inspire, Summer 2010

Cedarville with a degree in social work, and by 1998 her dream job was beginning to take shape. At that same time, a little girl’s dream of a family was beginning to shatter. By the age of two, LeaAnn had already lived in two homes. After giving up custody of her newborn, LeaAnn’s birthmother changed her mind and won the right to remove her daughter from foster care. Just as LeaAnn was beginning to recognize a mommy and daddy, she was ripped from everything familiar. The transition did not go well. Becoming the target for her mother’s frustration, LeaAnn experienced abuse and neglect and was once locked in a closet. Eventually removed from her home when her mother lost custody, LeaAnn was again sent to live with a foster family. Although foster homes often provide a loving family and nurturing environment, some foster experiences lead to further abuse and trauma. Unfortunately, this was LeaAnn’s story. Just before her fifth birthday, she had to be removed from this home and was placed with a third foster family. A New Family Around this same time, God began working in Becky’s heart about the possibility of adoption. She decided to step out in faith and test the waters. In 2004, she purchased a home and began taking the classes required for potential foster parents. She would wait on God to see where He would lead. By this time, LeaAnn had also experienced the rejection of a failed adoption. More than seven years of neglect, abuse, and abandonment had taken their toll. She no longer dreamed of a forever family and struggled with bouts of anxiety and paralyzing fear. Due to LeaAnn’s background, her social worker had been unable to find a home for her and, in passing, mentioned to Becky, “Why don’t you adopt LeaAnn? After all, you’re going through the classes.” The question struck home. Could this be the child God had been leading her to? She decided to take another step of faith, and in July of 2005, she brought LeaAnn into her home. After nine years of waiting, LeaAnn had finally found her forever family. Although Becky clearly sensed God leading her to adopt LeaAnn, the path was not easy. Becky jumped right into parenting a nine-year-old, and LeaAnn arrived convinced this adoption would end in failure. Unable to verbalize her internal turmoil, LeaAnn had temper tantrums — every day, for more than an hour. Her behavior brought Becky to her knees. “I knew I didn’t have the strength to deal with LeaAnn one more day,” she said. “I learned to completely trust God for the next day, for the next moment.” For the first two years, Becky felt like an outsider in LeaAnn’s life. When LeaAnn had something special to share, she would tell someone else — a teacher, a friend, but never Becky. One of Becky’s best memories is the night LeaAnn ran to her and yelled, “Mom, look what I got!” For the first time, Becky felt like LeaAnn’s mom. A Healing Touch Four years later, LeaAnn is a different child. After working with a counselor trained in trauma- based therapy, LeaAnn better understands her past. While she still struggles with anxiety at times, she now knows she doesn’t have to face it alone. At the age of 10, LeaAnn accepted Christ as her personal Savior and was baptized. Aware of God’s grace in placing her in her new home, LeaAnn told Becky, “God knew what He was doing when He brought us together.” Not only has LeaAnn been transformed through the adoption experience, but Becky has also changed. As a social worker, she is more empathetic toward parents and what they go through with their children. She has also seen firsthand the lasting influence of abusive and neglectful parenting. When children come into the system, she more fully understands their needs and can better guide their caseworkers. Now a seventh-grader, LeaAnn has become an advocate for adoption. She shared her thoughts in an interview posted on the GCCS website. “It’s important that every child gets a family,” she said. “They need to know that someone’s going to protect them.” God continues to bring healing while rewriting LeaAnn’s story, filling the pages with the love of a devoted mom and healing from a dark past. Yet many more children like LeaAnn continue to wait in foster care. Becky’s deepest longing is for godly families to rise to the challenge of loving these hurting children so that, like LeaAnn, their final chapters could be written with the love of a forever family. Becky Combs ’95, MSW, LISW, is a Foster-Adoptive Resource Supervisor at Greene County Children Services in Xenia, Ohio. An advocate for adoption and foster care, Becky would enjoy answering your adoption questions. You may contact her at scarryfan2005@aol.com. Cheryl (Warren) Brugel ’90 is a freelance writer living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband, Steve, and their four children. In addition to writing, she enjoys editing publications, such as The Journal of Biblical Integration in Business . You may contact her at scbrugel@yahoo.com . CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY 15