What You Believe, Manifests.

Last year at this time I decided to come up with a personal manifesto rather than a "resolution." 

My 2015 Manifesto was the following: 

Be intentional

Guard your heart

Believe

Be You

Laugh & Love

Be brave  & Passionate

Pray

Find Thanks

The list above actually played itself out for me. I became more intentional about my time, my words, my actions and my faith. I learned through some situations that guarding my heart from certain people was necessary for my well being. I became disciplined in my prayer and in that saw my belief increase. "Ask and it shall be given" (Matthew 7:7) became a daily prayer of mine and just like always God showed up and showed me how BIG He really is. I learned to be myself and not play small to those around me. What you see is what you get with me and I'm choosing to "sugar coat" things less. I learned to embrace all sides of myself more than ever. As always, I struggled to find thanks in everything, but the blessings always outweigh the struggles. 

For 2016, I came up with a new list to add to the previous list and am SO EXCITED about it.

I want to be better at seeking WISDOM this year because wisdom is probably the most worthy treasure a person can have. 

I want to find PEACE in the midst of whatever chaos life brings. I want to make time for more peaceful things in my life and more time for me to just breathe. 

I want to DO LIFE BIG. There's this great song on one of my Apple Music playlists that talks about doing life big and so that's my plan. To do some big things that I've never done before. 

I want to LOVE EXTRAVAGANTLY ANYWAY. I added the "anyway" because I have learned to love those in my circle extravagantly, but I want to be intentional about doing that even when I'm unsure if some in my circle may choose to walk away.  

I want to OPEN ARM PRAISE. Not just praise and be full of thanks, but I want to completely surrender to each moment and praise God for all of it. 

I want to GIVE ABUNDANTLY. This goes along with the loving extravagantly. I want to be a better giver and be able to not just give but give above and beyond what I would normally would. 

I want to FIGHT WITH PRAYER. It seems that the easy way these days is to fight with words or with silence, but I want to fight with the strongest weapons I have - my prayers. I want to pray intentionally in all situations, but especially those situations that I cannot control. 

Lastly, I want to SLAY MY GIANTS. I posted a few days ago " Fear helps you settle. Don't retreat when you see a giant in your path." I don't want to allow fear of those big wounds and potholes in my path to keep me from living fully the way God intended. I don't want to retreat, push people away or isolate myself just because something looks too hard for me to overcome. 

2016 is going to be an epic year for me and my family and we hope the same for you!

Confessions of an Adoptee

I often feel like a poster child for the Lifetime Movie Network. 

I'm serious. 

Adoption. 
Addiction. 
Cancer. 
Divorce. 
Death. 

I've dealt with it all and I bring a pretty unique perspective to all things and will never, ever think like the normal adult. 

I feel like I become the spokesperson for whatever issue is at the forefront of my day. 

Being my family, being my friend is not an easy task because of that list up there. 

Today is no exception. 

Yes, it's my birthday. 

Yes, I've had some pretty amazing birthday's. (This is one of my all-time favorites!) 

Before adulthood, I LOVED my birthday. I have to admit I got some pretty incredible birthday surprises. It was a day that I celebrated and couldn't wait for each year. 

Then, I grew up. I started asking more and more about my birth parents and the circumstances surrounding my adoption. 

I did not expect to be met with anger and yelling and accusations of not loving my parents. 

All day today I've been trying to figure out why this day now brings me sadness. Last year I just thought it was because my mom had recently passed. Everyone was quick to chime in on that being the reason, so I accepted it and I moved on. 

This year I'm realizing more and more that it's because not only am I grieving a mom that isn't here, I'm also still grieving a mom and a family that I never knew. And with the death of my mom last year, many of the details I sought also died with her. 

I'm speaking out today because all I've ever heard my entire life was "You're so lucky." "You are so special." "You are so loved." "You were so wanted." "You should be so thankful."

And then when I did start having questions soon after my first child was born, I was made to feel like my questions were invalid and not as important as what the family that raised me was feeling. I was told I was being disrespectful and unloving by asking those questions. 

I began feeling like something was very much wrong with me. 

So, I sat with that. 

For a LONG time.

I was caught between wanting to know more and being afraid of hurting those that raised me. I did not bring up my adoption ever again. I did seek out information on my own and know a few of the steps it will take to get some details, but then Jace got sick and my focus became cancer. 

Here's the deal. You can read all about the families that adopt. You can read about amazing reunions between birth parents and children. But I rarely hear from the adoptees themselves. It seems that their voice is the most overlooked and ignored. 

Adoptions have changed a lot in 40 years. I have special friends who have amazing families and are amazing parents to children who've been adopted. Their stories warm my heart. 

I do want to say is that just because a child is adopted or has been adopted doesn't mean that they aren't going to have questions or might wrestle with feelings that are scary.

It doesn't mean that they won't be silently grieving a loss. 
It doesn't mean they are ungrateful. 
It doesn't mean they love those they are with any less. 

Birthdays can be hard just because it's a reminder of loss and unanswered questions.
Birthdays can be hard because they bring up abandonment issues and feelings of anger. 

Next time you are wishing someone "Happy Birthday" remember that there could be a lot of emotions wrapped up in that one simple phrase. 

Research has shown that many adoptees have built walls around themselves to keep others from getting too close. They may hide behind perfectionism, achievement, and self-sufficiency. 

I am no exception to this and constantly struggle with letting those walls weaken. My faith definitely helps with that because despite what I know about my earthly parents I still know WHOSE I am. 

39 years and He is still writing my story . . .

xoxo