Have you ever wondered what happens when a CCS client doesn’t choose adoption? Even when adoption isn’t the end result, we still want to be “the aroma of Christ” to those involved. This story is one such example.

by Callie Chartrau, Birthmother Caseworker

 

I had the privilege of serving a client I’ll call “Kayla.” She was pregnant, currently parenting a young daughter, and was an open and devout atheist. She made this last fact known to me in no uncertain terms at our very first meeting! She knew she had called a Christian adoption agency and that the family she chose to adopt her baby would be a Christian family. She was fine with that, but also wanted to make it clear to me what she believed. I told her I was happy to work with her if she wanted to work with us!

I met with her weekly for a couple of months. Besides taking her grocery shopping a couple of times, my main service was to listen, counsel and guide her through the adoption process. Although she was living in poverty she was using her resources wisely, and I was able to see that she was a loving and competent mother.

When the time came for her to deliver she asked me to provide her with a ride to the hospital. Over the next couple of days through labor and delivery I met many of her friends, and she spoke only high praises about adoption and me, her “caseworker friend.” She signed her surrender paperwork, and her baby boy went to a CCS interim care home for the 10 day period during which Kayla could legally change her mind regarding adoption.

A few days later, Kayla called me late at night and told me she had changed her mind about adoption and had decided that she wanted to parent. She apologized for “wasting my time,” and was very appreciative of everything I had done for her. I assured her that she was not a waste of time and that I had enjoyed getting to know her.

The next day I picked up the baby from our interim care home and drove him to Kayla’s trailer. On the way there I prayed that the Lord would grab his heart at a young age. At Kayla’s home she showed me around and pointed out where her baby would be sleeping as well as the car seat and formula she had for him.

She then told me she had a gift for me. She said she wanted to thank me for being so kind to her, and said that she had never been shown unconditional love before. She was taken aback that I had continued to be kind to her even after she changed her mind regarding adoption.

Kayla pulled out a notebook and removed a single page, and then presented me with a picture she had drawn for me. It was a picture of a cross, surrounded by the text of Romans 8:14-16. She said that the night before she had stayed up all night searching the Bible trying to find a verse that would be appropriate for her to give me.

She thanked me for loving her and her family, we hugged, and then we said our goodbyes. I trust that a God who can lead an atheist to spend all night searching through Scripture can also care for Kayla and her children and can draw them to Himself!