Scripture Reading:
DEUTERONOMY 24:17–22
I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me.
MATTHEW 25:35–36
SAM STURGELL WENT into family law because he believed that with God’s help, an attorney could wreak miracles and goodness rather than destruction between a couple and their children. Every day, Sam prayed that the Lord would use his talents to bring about his purposes in the lives of the people Sam worked for.
One afternoon he took a call from Lucy Manning, a former classmate in law school who had dropped out to pursue her love for adventure as a flight attendant. She had met a windsurfer in Portland and fallen in love. Everything was perfect until she wound up pregnant and her boyfriend had no interest in fatherhood.
Lucy felt that adoption would be the ultimate gift. Yes, the pregnancy would set her back in her career. But somewhere in the Portland area, there had to be a couple desperate for a child.
She called Sam and explained the situation. He lined up several portfolios of families. Lucy picked a couple with a five-year-old boy and the inability to have more children. She barely noticed a small line in the couple’s dossier: Healthy child only.
The week that Lucy was scheduled to deliver, Anthony and Amber Aarons had been approved for adoption. They had contacted Sam Sturgell and were waiting for a baby. But not just any baby.
The week before, the Aaronses were at a nephew’s soccer game when they noticed a boy who had a hand with no fingers. The boy blocked one goal attempt after another while his family cheered for him. Everything about the scene took Anthony Aarons back.
Anthony had been born with a cleft palate, in which the tissue between the nose and the lip doesn’t develop properly. By the time surgery had been performed, the teasing from other kids had taken its toll. Anthony’s confidence was almost nonexistent, but it was made worse by his father.
His parents divorced when Anthony was ten. After that his father would visit two or three times a year. Once he overheard his father tell his mother that he looked terrible and needed another surgery. Other times Anthony would catch his father studying his upper lip area with a disgusted look on his face.
Anthony’s saving grace had been his mother’s love. She took him to church and taught him to believe in the plans God had for his life. She was the first on her feet to applaud when he graduated with a master’s degree in counseling. His life would be a wonderful one because she believed in him all along.
Those memories were strong as Anthony watched the little boy playing soccer. The child beamed with confidence, convinced—because of the obvious love from his family—that he could do anything he set his mind to do.
On the way home, Amber said, “I can’t stop thinking about that special boy.”
“Me either.”
“Like maybe God’s trying to tell us we’re supposed to adopt a child with special needs?”
The question rattled the walls of Anthony’s soul. It was exactly what he’d been thinking. “Is that really what you’ve been thinking?”
“Yes. I want to be that mother, cheering for a child who might not get cheers otherwise.”
That Monday, Anthony called Sam and explained their change of plans. “We’ll probably go through the state. Most private adoptions deal with healthy kids, right?”
Sam replied, “Most of the time. But once in a while God has a miracle up his sleeve, a reason why a couple like you changes your mind about wanting a healthy child. Let’s go ahead and contact the state. But in the meantime, I’ll keep your file on my desk and pray.”
Anthony and Amber began to pray that the Lord would bring them the right little boy or girl, someone whose life they could truly impact.
A few days later, Lucy Manning went into labor. The hour the baby was born Sam took the call from Lucy, and she was crying. “Sam… there’s a problem. The baby has… a cleft palate. Please pray for us.”
Sam’s heart ached for Lucy and the baby, and for the adoptive couple. They wanted a healthy baby, nothing else. A call to the couple made the situation sure.
Sam was hanging up the phone when his eyes fell on the Aaronses’ file. Of course. Not only would they take a baby with a disability, but they wanted such a child. He grinned as his trembling fingers dialed their number. He realized something he hadn’t considered before. Though it was barely noticeable, Anthony had also been a victim of a cleft palate. Then he heard Anthony answer, “Hello.”
“Anthony, it’s Sam. I think we’re on the brink of a miracle here.”
“Okay, Sam, what’s up?”
“If you could have a child with any certain type of disability, what would you choose?”
It was a strange question, but Anthony didn’t hesitate. “I was born with a cleft palate; you probably know that. I guess I would understand that best.”
Sam had a lump in his throat too big to slip words past. When he could finally talk, he said, “Anthony, God’s brought a baby into the world that couldn’t belong to anyone but you and Amber.”
Eight years have passed since then. Amber and Anthony adopted little Randall James, who has a strong spirit, something instilled in him by his parents’ faith and determination. That spirit shows up most on the soccer field where Randy is one of the top defenders. And his parents? The best cheering section of all.
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement.
PHILEMON 1:7