An Unexpected Journey

The day our family grew by one
So very unexpected, certainly not planned
Not pregnant, but it’s every bit as exciting

We thought we would welcome into our home
For a few weeks one summer
An orphan from a land far away

Little did we know
Our hearts would be knit together as one
Our children would embrace this precious child

This little one had a hard beginning
While still so young, was now alone
But LORD willing, not for long

Far too soon the day would come
When we had to send this young one back
This child whom we’ve come to love

What better way to celebrate and remember
Than a picnic, together as a family
On a beautiful warm summer day

Of course, we took pictures to remember
When we beheld the photos in our hands
We knew, this child was meant to become our own

Sadly, the day came for a tearful goodbye
We embraced, declared our love
Made promises to write and stay in touch

Thus, our unexpected journey began
Covered with prayer
Dependent upon the wisdom and guidance of God

We will rely on the support of family and friends
The loving care of our dear church family
As we walk the path of adoption, one step at a time

Seemingly endless paperwork to be completed
Funds to save and raise
To make what seems impossible happen

We will watch and pray
Delays may come
But our hearts will remain full of hope

Dependent upon God
Who goes before us
For His heart is close to the orphan


by Susan Bunts Wachtel
August 2, 2017

Have you ever heard a story and felt inspired and moved by what God was doing?  This poem was inspired by a story I recently read.  While I don’t know the all the details about what the family has experienced, I rejoice at the work the LORD is doing to give a precious orphan a family and change a life forever for good.  

An Inconvenient Life

The abortion industry thrives on despair
Prospers on lies and deception
But the truth is
It’s a baby, not just a fetus
A child, not tissue

A mother’s womb
So perfectly designed by God
To nourish and protect
Nascent human life
Has become a chamber of death

They say it’s just tissue and won’t feel a thing
But he is already fully formed, all organs in place
With arms and legs, hands and feet
And a beating human heart
Knit so perfectly together by God in the hidden place

This wee little one…does he feel anxiety
As adrenalin courses through his mother’s body
He’s resting, protected within his mother’s womb
Until a probe enters in
And pokes him in the side

He has no knowledge of what it is
He only knows it hurts
His arms and legs flail
He tries in vain to move away
But there will be no escape

In a matter of seconds
A beating heart is stilled
His body is mangled and torn apart
As it silently slips away through the hose
His life and death invisible to all but God

The mother who was to give birth
Sentenced her child to death
The one who pledged to protect human life
Now extinguishes life for profit
Parents who desire to have a babe in their arms must wait a little longer

An inconvenience, a consequence
Soon to be swept away by a “simple procedure”
But this child will never be forgotten
Reminders surround his mother…even haunt her
It’s everywhere…the smile of a child or a date on the calendar

But there is healing and forgiveness to be found
Confession
Repentance
Salvation through Christ Jesus the Redeemer
Adoption by the Lover of her soul


By Susan Bunts Wachtel
January 21, 2009

This poem was inspired by Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director, turned Pro Life when confronted with the undeniable truth…it’s a baby growing within a womb.  To hear her story log on to Focus on the Family and listen to the shows from January 21 and 22, 2010. 

The Mother I Never Knew

My first nine months were spent in your womb,
But I never knew you.

The certificate says “Baby Girl Dawson”,
That’s all I know for sure.

All those years ago,
Abortion wasn’t even legal.

But I wonder did you love me,
Dare I even ask…why you didn’t want me?

What is the story,
On how I came to be?

Was I the product young love,
Or an illicit affair…or something more tragic?

Did you see me on that day,
Did you hold me in your arms?

Did you whisper sweet words of love,
And pray God’s blessing upon my life?

Or was I taken away,
Never to be seen again?

Was my birth a deep family secret,
Something not uttered in good company?

Do you ever shed a tear or feel guilty,
Or were you confident that you did the right thing?

Did you ever marry,
Have children that you called your own?

Do I have brothers and sisters,
Am I anyone’s spitting image?

During your day,
Do your thoughts every turn to me?

Do you ever wonder,
Who and what I came to be?

Do we share the same faith,
And one day I’ll meet you in heaven?

To the mother I never knew,
I do wonder about you.

It would be with fear and trembling,
That I would dare to try and find you.

For I fear,
Of the answers I might hear.

Susan Bunts
January 5, 2008

With a friend’s decision to adopt a child…my thoughts have turned to my own adoption…so many years ago. I was given up for adoption at birth…and adopted at the age of 3 months. The only thing I know about my birth mother is that her last name was Dawson.

It’s odd how a person who I never met…who I know nothing about can continue to be a part of my thoughts. Obviously I wonder what happened…why she gave me up for adoption. What her thoughts were over the years about her decision. Whatever happened with her life…did she go on to have a happy and successful life? Or was my birth…just another difficult circumstance in her life? Did she ever have children…do I have brothers and sisters? Do I look like anyone…is my personality or interests like anyone the family I never knew?

Abortion back then wasn’t an option…unless a woman chose to do a backstreet illegal abortion. I wonder…if it had been legal…would she still have made the same decision to give her baby up for adoption?

There are times I wonder…have I ever seen or met her? Would I like her…is she a good decent person? Or is she a wretch of a human being and the decision to have her baby adopted was one of the few good things she did? Is she still alive…how is her health? What diseases run in the family that I should know about? As much as ever contemplated the idea of trying to find her…I never followed through for fear of what I might find.

Many adoptions today are more open and children are able to know more about their birth parents. I think that’s a good thing…maybe?

The one scar that has remained in my life if the feeling of rejection. I knew that I was adopted for as long as I can remember…I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know that. It’s funny because even if a child is rejected by their birth mother…they are wanted by the family that adopts them. I wonder why the rejection is the dominate feeling?

The above picture is my first picture taken by a foster mother before I was adopted.