ann kiemel

from 3 or 4 years of age,
jan and i had one dream only:
to be mothers.

we lived with our dolls.
had pretend husbands.
loved...loved...babies.

we babysat.
even at the big Hawaiian
hotels where cabs would
pick us up and deliver us home.

jan married 11 years before i did.
i was travelling the world. running
marathons. and longing to change
the world. at 35, will and i started
right away to have a baby.

so many miscarriages. devastating
losses. every month, our hopes raised,
and every month, they were shattered.

and then, four, beautiful, southern, educated
birth mothers....alot like each other...handed
us our sons. i was the labor coach. will and
i were in the delivery room. and God gave us
a newborn, a 6mos. old, a 2 yr. and 3 yr. old.
not all at once, of course.

four birth mothers who became dearest friends.
four boys who became brothers. and i, the
adopted mom, who taught my children that
their birth mothers were angels and stars
and heroes.

today is mothers' day.
call me love. call me joy. call
me the richest lady in the world because
i get to be the mother of four sons who
love me and look after me and love me.

and i, them?
they are my morning sky
and my afternoon sun and, along
with Jesus, the only reasons i get up
every day with a sense of hope and promise.

whatever their successes and achievements,
my only REAL desire for them is that they love
Jesus and plant a touch of His magnificent love
and Redemption into every heart they can.
without Jesus living in them. i have failed.

"my desire to be like Jesus...
my desire to be like Him....."
paint the hydrants red.
throw a rainbow across every child's face.
and remember, children are gifts from God.
i celebrate Him and my four children and their
families today with a song in my heart. you, too!
okay?