Two Mothers Joined By a Time Out Miracle
At a day-long Time Out For Women conference in California's capital city of Sacramento, 2,000 women gathered for a day of laughter and learning. Two of those women had an incredible connection, though they didn't have any idea when they came to the event that day that they would reconnect.
Eight years ago, one of the two women placed her baby into the arms of a young couple who had been praying for the miracle of "the gift they could not give each other." There had been no contact between the birth mother and the adoptive parents in these eight years, until the fateful Time Out conference. The birth mother recognized the woman who had adopted her baby attending the same conference.
As she introduced herself to the woman who had raised her child, the songwriter at the podium, me, began singing a song he'd written a decade earlier about a young woman who placed her baby with a young couple praying for a miracle of their own. That song, "From God's Arms To My Arms To Yours", was being sung as these two women embraced each other and wept in gratitude and tenderness.
In the back of my mind I thought about doing my song about adoption near the end of my part of the program, but something inside encouraged me to do the song earlier-much earlier than I'd anticipated-and it was at that special moment that these two women, unbeknownst to me, were connecting.
Now I want you to know that the song wasn't the miracle, nor was the timing of its performance. And come to think of it, the connection between these women under these circumstances was amazing, but the real miracle was the greatness of these two women and their families.
One giving an extraordinary gift, the other receiving it with gratitude and grace, then giving her all to make good on the unwritten promise that the child would get the very best she and her husband could offer.
The feeling in Sacramento was very special before all this happened, but the contribution of this connection helped fill the room with a magical presence. As corny as it sounds to say that "love was in the air", it was. I was inspired by these great, great women and their families and loved ones who have supported them throughout the years.
I wrote a song years ago that said, "You must believe there are miracles because today might be the day that one comes true". I wrote it then, and it's truer than ever now. Thank you, Sacramento, for letting me be around when this one happened.
by Michael McLean
Eight years ago, one of the two women placed her baby into the arms of a young couple who had been praying for the miracle of "the gift they could not give each other." There had been no contact between the birth mother and the adoptive parents in these eight years, until the fateful Time Out conference. The birth mother recognized the woman who had adopted her baby attending the same conference.
As she introduced herself to the woman who had raised her child, the songwriter at the podium, me, began singing a song he'd written a decade earlier about a young woman who placed her baby with a young couple praying for a miracle of their own. That song, "From God's Arms To My Arms To Yours", was being sung as these two women embraced each other and wept in gratitude and tenderness.
In the back of my mind I thought about doing my song about adoption near the end of my part of the program, but something inside encouraged me to do the song earlier-much earlier than I'd anticipated-and it was at that special moment that these two women, unbeknownst to me, were connecting.
Now I want you to know that the song wasn't the miracle, nor was the timing of its performance. And come to think of it, the connection between these women under these circumstances was amazing, but the real miracle was the greatness of these two women and their families.
One giving an extraordinary gift, the other receiving it with gratitude and grace, then giving her all to make good on the unwritten promise that the child would get the very best she and her husband could offer.
The feeling in Sacramento was very special before all this happened, but the contribution of this connection helped fill the room with a magical presence. As corny as it sounds to say that "love was in the air", it was. I was inspired by these great, great women and their families and loved ones who have supported them throughout the years.
I wrote a song years ago that said, "You must believe there are miracles because today might be the day that one comes true". I wrote it then, and it's truer than ever now. Thank you, Sacramento, for letting me be around when this one happened.
by Michael McLean