Goodbye, Tina
Baby Tina left us tonight. We only knew since yesterday that she was going back to her birth mother and family. The mother arrived yesterday afternoon at our house with a note from Justina telling us that there had been reconciliation in the family and they were now wanting the baby. There was also a letter from the mother’s father which she showed us. So we arranged this afternoon for Tina to go home.
At first we reacted against just returning Tina in this way, without more investigation and study, but then she had every legal right to the child in any case. After reading the letter, though, we were moved by the evidence of God’s work of grace. Even I, who had felt ambivalent about taking in another baby, had to be amazed to realize that the bit of time and love on the part of ProLife Evangel had made a world of difference in these lives, and maybe spared the life of little Tina.
In the letter, the girl’s father affirmed his lasting love for her, even though she had “made a mistake.” He told her he admired her courage for not aborting the baby and was glad that she had found a place that would take her in. He begged her forgiveness and asked several times for her please to come home, promising that everything would be alright, that the parents just longed to set eyes on their daughter and granddaughter.
So, tonight the mom came with Justina and some relations. Barb had put together quite a pack of clothes, blankets and baby-care things to go with Tina. I prayed a blessing over Tina and her family and we said goodbye. It’s never fun having to say goodbye to our little babies, but this time we were at peace over how it was happening.
Praise God for all his goodness.