"Stories on the Sabbath"

(This story is dedicated to one of my clinical trial nurses who just got back from China, with her arms full -bringing a baby girl that they were able to adopt after 5 long years.)

                                                            Aching  Arms

The words she spoke seemed to be aimed directly at me:  "There is a special need for service dealing with unwed mothers."  I couldn't seem to hear anything else our Stake Relief Society President was saying.  It was September 1980, and I had recently been called as  Relief Society president.  Many of the presidents had been asked if they would check in their wards to see if anyone would like to be foster parents to these young, unwed mothers.

The Spirit had spoken to me, and I felt very strongly that this was a service in which the Lord wanted my family to be involved. I approached my husband with my feelings and he agreed.  We had  three young daughters at the time, so one more temporary daughter seemed all right with him.  Several weeks later, I received a call from a woman stating that she was from LDS Social Services.  She was the head case worker for unwed mothers and wanted to  visit with us and tour our home.  Soon we were on our way to becoming foster parents.

About three days after our visit with the case worker, Jill and her parents came to meet us.  She was precious!  Eighteen years old, she had graduated from high school and was about four months into her pregnancy.  After meeting with us, her parents felt good about having their daughter stay in our home.  And we received a witness of the Spirit that she was to be our foster daughter.

During the next five months, we felt both joy and sorrow.  It was a glorious experience full of love and learning, and a bond was formed between Jill and our family that will never be broken.  After she delivered, Jill decided to place her baby for adoption.  This very unselfish decision was not an easy one.

One morning about two months after Jill had gone home, I received a phone call from her case worker.  She asked me if I could help her out of a predicament.  She had two newborn babies who needed to be picked up from different hospitals at the same time later that day.  She was calling to see if I would be available to help.  She needed me to pick up a baby girl and bring her home with me until the adoptive parents could be notified. I love babies and told her I would be thrilled to help out!

 When I arrived at the hospital, I presented my credentials to the admitting desk and was led to a small, private room in the farthest corner of the hospital.  As I apprehensively approached the open door of the hospital room, I caught a glimpse of a lovely young girl, about 16 years old.  She was sitting on the edge of her hospital bed, cradling in her arms a beautiful baby girl, a gift from God.  Her mother and father were standing arm in arm, looking out the window at the majestic mountains reaching toward the azure blue sky, trying to keep their composure and be strong for their daughter.  I was very nervous about entering that room and intruding on the spirit that was there.  I felt as if I might be stepping on hallowed ground.

The new mother was cooing to her daughter, expressing her deep love for her, telling her she was going to have some great opportunities in life by going to an adoptive family--opportunities she might not have otherwise.  She whispered that she would never forget her and that someday, if the Lord permitted, they might have a chance to meet again.  Her final words to her infant daughter were, "If I didn't love you with every fiber of my soul, if I didn't know beyond any doubt that you were to belong to another family, I would never let you go!"  She kissed the tiny forehead and pressed her lips against each infant finger.  Then she passed her baby from her aching arms to mine, turned away, and broke into sobs.  Her mother and father cried with her and encircled her in their arms as I left with the baby.

I cried all the way home for that precious little mother who had just taken her first step on the road to recovery.  How difficult this must have been for her.  I was privileged to have this darling baby with my family for two days before the case worker called and said the adoptive parents had been notified and would pick her up.

Again with trepidation, I entered a room filled with a mighty spirit, but this time a spirit of pure joy.  The cycle was complete as the baby was passed from my arms to the aching arms of her new mother.  Tears flowed down the new parents' cheeks, and I left the room quietly.  Like them, I too was shedding tears of joy!

From that experience came the opportunity to become a boarding mother for newborn babies.  For the next 20 months we housed newborns on a regular basis.  What a blessing that was to us!  Some babies we had only for a few hours, many for several days.  We loved them, fed them, clothed them and cared for them, and experienced heaven on earth each time,  gaining much more than we gave.

--April Goodman Baird, volunteer for "OutReach"   

               (By Small & Simple Things)