Sonrise Magazine

My Adoption Story

By Donna Granados

Donna is behind her parents and sister.

I am the child of an unplanned pregnancy.

Janet was 18 years old and had just graduated from high school when she discovered she was pregnant. She had her whole life ahead of her. A life full of hopes and dreams. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to have her whole world turned upside down.  She was planning on going to college, not having a baby. I cannot even imagine how scary and overwhelming that must have felt for her.

When she told her boyfriend Bob that she was pregnant they decided to get married, but soon realized they did not want to have any children. They considered abortion but decided on adoption instead. I am so thankful they had my best interest at heart and were able to give me the gift of life.

I think giving a baby up for adoption is an incredibly selfless act. To carry a child for nine months with the knowledge you will be giving them up must be incredibly painful. Pregnancy symptoms and a growing belly would be a daily reminder of that. She must have had so much conflict in her heart. And I imagine she felt shame wondering if she had made the right decision when people asked about her unborn baby or what they were planning on naming me.

My Mom and Dad had been trying to have a baby for years. My Mom had suffered eight or nine miscarriages and they had been trying to adopt for a long time. A couple of adoptions fell through at the last minute when the biological parents changed their mind and decided to keep their baby. It’s heartbreaking to imagine my parents getting their hopes up so high, expectantly waiting for the due date. Anxiously awaiting the day when they could bring their baby home from the hospital only to have the rug pulled out from under them at the last minute. But God had another plan.

My Mom was 43 and my Dad was 45 when they adopted me. They had waited so long, and after all the years of waiting they finally had the baby they’d been longing for.  And fifteen months later we became a family of four when God blessed them yet again with another daughter. I am so thankful God gave me my Mom and Dad. The older I get the more I realize they were one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given.

My biological Mother gave my parents the child they had always wanted and had fought so hard to have for so many years. She selflessly gave them that gift and I am so grateful to her. God placed me right where I was supposed to be.

Life is a priceless gift. It’s something to be cherished and valued. And I’m so thankful she was able to give me that gift.

Donna on an important phone call.