Scripture Reading:
PSALM 72
He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy.
PSALM 72:4
ANGIE WINTERS had one passion in her job as a social worker in Manhattan—to help lonely children find families. Every week brought new girls and boys into her life, kids desperate for a family—either through foster care or adoption. Her passion was personal. She was adopted as an infant, placed into a loving family with six other children. She viewed adoption as the most beautiful gift an adult could ever possibly give to a child.
Despite days when New York City was too busy, too confining, she had made a commitment to stay. Her caseload was full and the kids needed her. She would stay until God showed her she was to do otherwise.
One morning Angie arrived at work and found her supervisor talking with someone in the waiting area. With them was a beautiful little girl with brown eyes and curly dark brown hair. Angie moved closer to the child and dropped slowly to her knees. “Hi.”
After a few seconds, the girl lifted her eyes and gave the smallest wave. Angie loved this part, connecting with a child who was probably at the lowest point of her life—alone and without anyone to care for her.
Angie uttered a silent prayer for the girl, then found out her name was Karli and she was nearly three years old. Angie’s supervisor told her that both parents had been killed in a car accident the previous night. Karli had been in her car seat and had no injuries. Angie was assigned her case and told to check for relatives.
Angie breathed another prayer, that God would use her to bring hope and a new family to this precious child. She approached the girl and stooped down again. “Karli, come here, honey.”
The child blinked twice, then held out her hand. As she came forward, Angie was seized by the strangest thought. What if she could take Karli home and be the mother she would need? The idea faded as quickly as it had come. Angie had promised herself that she wouldn’t get personally involved at work. But something about this child had found an immediate pathway to the center of Angie’s heart.
Angie learned that Karli had a single aunt named Amy who lived outside Denver. She called the woman and found out Amy was twenty-six. Her deceased sister had been eight years older, and the two hadn’t talked in years. Amy didn’t know until that phone call that she even had a niece.
“I’m all she has?” Shock sounded in Amy’s voice.
“Yes,” Angie answered. “I’d like to bring Karli for a visit as soon as possible.”
“You can come anytime, but I can’t promise anything. This is all so sudden. I’m engaged.”
“Of course. I’d like to bring her to see you this weekend, if that works for you.”
Angie felt a strange nervousness. Amy hadn’t even known about Karli? How would Amy provide a loving home if family wasn’t important to her? But she tucked her fears away and stuck with the mind-set she’d been trained to have. Anytime a child could be with a healthy, fit relative, the child would always be better off.
That night Karli stayed with her, then the following morning they shared breakfast and headed to the airport. By the time they were on the plane, Angie felt a connection with the girl that she normally resisted.
They were almost to Denver when Karli fell asleep. Angie used the time to pray. God, work a miracle for Karli. She’s lost so much. And if Amy doesn’t want her, let it be clear. She paused and waited. She felt the Lord’s presence very close, as near as her next breath. I feel something special for this one. So if Amy doesn’t want her, let me be a part of Karli’s life. Please, God.
Even as she finished the prayer she felt a strange tingling along her spine. She’d never prayed that way for a child in her care. Whatever it was about Karli, it was different, and Angie had the strangest feeling that God was up to something unusual.
When Angie and Karli arrived at the house, Amy stepped outside and froze in her tracks. Angie looked at Amy and her head began to spin. She might as well have been looking into a mirror.
“Are you… are you Amy?”
“Yes.” Her voice was filled with shock. “You look exactly like me. Were you adopted?”
Angie began to tremble. “Yes. As a baby.”
“Really?” Amy gasped. “Me, too.”
Angie was breathless, not sure what to say. She looked down at the child. “This is Karli.”
“Okay, let’s go inside and talk.”
Over the next hour Angie learned the truth about the unimaginable. She and Amy were born on the same day, in the same town. Their birth mother—whom neither girl knew—must have had identical twins and given them up to separate families. As soon as they realized the truth, they embraced, caught between laughing and crying.
Finally Angie sat back in her chair and stared at her newfound sister. “So you’re an aunt. Have you thought about that?”
“Have you?” A bit of laughter slipped out. It took a few seconds for Angie to get it
“If you’re her aunt”—Angie grinned—“I’m her aunt, too. Because adopted families are families all the same. Miracle families.”
“Exactly.”
The plans came together quickly. Reconnected with the identical twin sister she hadn’t known existed, Angie moved to Denver. There she is able to marvel at the miracle of her life and spend as much time with Karli as she wants. As for Karli, she’s doing well in her new family, with her new forever mother, Amy.
O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.
JEREMIAH 32:18