I WIll Always Love You

As I wrote about yesterday, birth parents love their children deeply. It is so important to Cheyenne that Abby know she was always loved and wanted, and it's so important to us that Abby knows this too, that she never wonders why she was placed for adoption, that she always feels very much encompassed in love. That is why we chose open adoption. In thinking about the intense love birth parents have for their children (even those whose adoptions are closed, who haven't seen their children since they were only a day or two old - they still love them intensely and miss them always) I think that part of this comes from the fact that they acted in such a Christ-like way. We all know that as we serve someone our love for them increases. Well here are these people that already love this little person more than they knew was possible, and then they choose for their heart to be broken so they can give them the best gift they are capable of, the best life they can envision for them in a family that they hope will provide all the things they are unable to. They sacrifice themselves, their own desires and dreams, for another's happiness. There has to be something incredibly bonding in that sacrifice, developing into a kind of love that only birth parents understand.
I bet you have heard the song "I Will Always Love You". I've always loved it, (both Dolly's original one and Whitney's cover.) But have you ever listened to or read the lyrics thinking in terms of a birth mother singing to her child? It's a perfect fit:

If I should stay
Well, I would only be in your way
And so I'll go, and yet I know
That I'll think of you each step of my way
And I will always love you
I will always love you
Bitter-sweet memories
That's all I have, and all I'm taking with me
Good-bye, oh, please don't cry
'Cause we both know that I'm not
What you need
But I will always love you
I will always love you

And I hope life, will treat you kind
And I hope that you have all
That you ever dreamed of
Oh, I do wish you joy
And I wish you happiness
But above all this
I wish you love
I love you, I will always love

I will always, always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you

Dolly's version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS-F4rfU4ns
Whitney's version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU