Adoption Stories: Temporarily Todd

For the last several months, the 4theVoiceless ministry has been collecting recipes in anticipation of producing an adoption cookbook.  What began as a trickle of recipes flowing in became a deluge at the deadline, and we are now in the process of putting them together, getting the cookbook formatted and to the printer, and making them available in time for Christmas.  We anticipate having the cookbook completed in the next couple of weeks and will let you know how to get your hands on one (or several).

The purpose of the cookbook is to fund our church's adoption fund that will help families make adoption a little more financially feasible.  At the same time, the cookbook is intended to raise awareness about the need for adoption and how it reflects what God has done for us in adopting us as children in His family.  To that end we have included nine stories of adoption from several different angles.  Over the next few weeks on the blog, I want to give you a taste of those stories.

We'll start today with Jay Trawick's story:

Temporarily Todd

March 8, 1973 was the day my story began. I was born in a hospital in Mobile, AL. I spent two months in foster care as they gave me the temporary name of Todd. They said I was a healthy and happy baby, always smiling. 

Little did I know, May 10^tph, 1973 my world would really begin. A young, married couple named Cheryl & Jerome from Eufaula, AL, were looking for a child to adopt, as they had no children of their own. They prepared their lives for over a year before they got the news a child had been chosen for them. They did not know the details of my story; all they knew was that they were going to love me and accept me into their home, no matter what! 

 And that’s exactly what they have done since that day. My world as I knew it from the start has always been a home filled with genuine love. Somewhere along the way, I knew God had given me amazing parents; I just did not realize how amazing they truly were. My childhood was dotted with special friends and warm memories. Every step of the way, Mom & Dad were always there. 

When I became a young man, I moved away from my parents to the Memphis area. I’ve always enjoyed going home to visit. All of the years had passed quickly in my adult life, but inwardly I always wanted to know the real answers to why I was adopted. 

During the month of April, 2010, my parents hired a private investigator from the state of Alabama. Within 7 days, they found the keys that would unlock the chapters of my life story. On April 19, 2010 at around 2:30 AM, my wife woke me up and said I had a phone call from my parents that I might want to take...

The Rest of the Story

You can read the rest of Jay's story when the 4theVoiceless cookbook becomes available.  The first opportunity to pre-order will be this Saturday at the CHC SHE ministry craft fair in Southaven.  4theVoiceless will have a booth set up to sell paracord bracelets and paper bead jewelry (Great stocking stuffers themselves for a great cause) as well as pre-orders for the cookbook.  I will let you know here on the blog and on our Facebook page when we will begin to take pre-orders online.

^{Galatians 4:4-6 (HCSB)}

⁴ When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”


Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al