As many of you know Mark Schultz was himself adopted. Recently, I have learned that he and his wife have also adopted. Without a doubt, adoption and care for the orphaned runs deep in his core.
Recently, I took some time to reflect on a song he wrote about his adoption, Everything To Me. Truthfully, I could not get past the first chorus without being floored by his words. He reflects on the day he was actually given up by his biological mother. Read these words and let them sit:
I must have felt your tears
When they took me from your arms
I'm sure I must have heard you say goodbye
Young and so afraid, had you made a big mistake
Could an ocean even hold the tears you cried? (Mark Schultz, Everything to Me)
I imagine this takes place in a sterile hospital room. Where this young lady has her last moments with her sweet little baby. Unsure it's the right decision and heartbroken to part with a person has intimately known her, she says a simple goodbye. And though that baby does not express goodbye he will feel the greatest "NO" a person can feel. Rejection by the very person that bared you. Not much different from Jesus on the cross saying "Father.. Why have you forsaken me?"
This idea can be passed off as the simple musings of an artist trying to tug on emotions to sell an album, however, science has pointed out that this is in fact true. Babies given up for adoption the day they were born feel the pain and trauma of rejection. In the womb they feel the mother's embarrassment and worry of an unwanted pregnancy. The science points to trust, brain formation, and brain chemistry are set by the year before birth and the year after birth. But fortunately, God designed our minds to be moldable by the environment we are raised in making it all the more important that we are prepared as we jump into adoption and fostering.
Join us on May 14th to hear more of Mark's story and the journey he has walked in adopting his kids. I look forward to learning a lot from him and the Path God has set him on.
To get your free tickets jump on www.theatticfn.org/allin
Check out his video.