Karen's Adoption Links - Inspiration, Quotes, and Poems for Adoption

What's New:

Page 2 of Inspiration and Thoughts

I owe you nothing
I give to you
Love
Fidelity
Trust

You owe me nothing
You give to me
Family
Belonging
Connectedness

Owing brings forth
resentment
debt
and when it's paid
it's final

Giving offers
warmth
love
joy
and it is never done
it is always held close to the heart
-- Eun Mi on IAT

Copyright © Eun Mi, All Rights Reserved

We go through what we go through to help others go through what we went through.
--- Unknown

The longest journey of any person is the journey inward.
--- Unknown

Welcome to Holland
-- Emily Perl Kingsley

The Lucky One
-- April Lanning

I'm only one. But still, I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
-- Edward Everett Hale

Adoption comes from the heart, but the adoption process comes from the Law.
You should follow your heart, but be sure you also follow the law.
-- Irina O'Rear

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
-- Max Ehrmann - Desiderata

We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.
But those who make their journey home across time & miles,
growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them,
are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us
by God's very own hands.
--- Kristi Larson

Pray, hope and don't worry. Anxiety doesn't help at all.
Our Merciful Lord will listen to your prayer.
--- Saint Padre Pio

I know God won't give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish he didn't trust me so much
--- Mother Teresa

The world is round, and
the place which may seem like the end,
may also be the beginning.
--- Ivy Baker Priest

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take,
but by the moments that take your breath away.
--- Unknown

I shall be called by a new name,
embraced by a fresh pair of arms,
but I shall come and go,
the eternal me.
--- Rabindranath Tagore

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you... More
--- Kahlil Gibran

Stop telling God how big your storm is -
Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is.
--- unknown

Thou hast made me known to friends whom I knew not.
Thou hast given me seats in homes not my own.
Thou hast brought the distant near and made a brother of the stranger.
--- Tagore

KISSES IN THE WIND (The Waiting Child's Lullabye)

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

--- © Pamela Durkota, written for Josh

Luck
I didn't come out of my mother.
I don't have my father's green eyes.
No one in my family looks like me.
People are always surprised.

I think we're a happier family
Than if we were all kings and queens.
We're so lucky we all found each other.
That's what being adopted means.

--- “Luck” by Pamela Espeland and Marilyn Nelson (Waniek), from The Cat Walked Through the Casserole (Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1981); © Pamela Espeland and Marilyn Nelson. Used with permission.

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a long time.
--- Unknown

Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished:
If you're alive, it isn't.
--- Richard Bach

I’d rather regret the things that I have done, than the things that I have not done.
--- Lucille Ball

I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
--- Robert Frost

The Future

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
--- Mark Twain

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet,
regardless of time, place, or circumstance.
The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.
--- An ancient Chinese belief

Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
--- Ralph Waldo Emerson

We don't stop playing because we grow older,
We grow older because we stop playing.
--- Nana (age 103)

Have great hopes and dare to go all out for them.
Have great dreams and dare to live them.
Have tremendous expectations and believe in them.
--- Norman Vincent Peale

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
--- Abraham Lincoln

Pray to God, but continue to row toward shore.
--- Russian Proverb

May you live all the days of your life.
--- Jonathan Swift

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
--- Lao-Tzu

The Bible

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;
and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
--- Matthew 7:7-8

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in, .....
The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me'.
--- Matthew 25:35,40

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.
---1 Samuel 1:27

God sets the lonely in families.
--- Psalm 68:6

Religion that God our Father Accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
--- James 1:27

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--
--- Isaiah 43: 5-6

Like cold water to a weary soul, is good news from a distant land.
--- Proverbs 25:25

And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
--- Matthew 18:5

The Adopted Child

How Could You Know?

As you lay sleeping far away as still as you could be...
How could you know the joy today this photo brings to me?

A few short weeks and you'll be mine, and "I" will soon be "We".
How could you know the love I feel? It's something you can't see.

So have sweet dreams, my precious babe. Sleep well and tenderly.
Some say that you're the lucky one. How could you know it's me?
--- Kris Laughlin

The Gift of Life
I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.

For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.
--- Unknown

For finding you mother,
There's one certain test.
You must look for the creature
Who loves you the best.
--- David Kirk (Little Miss Spider)

Natural Child:      Any child who is not artificial.
Real Parent:    Any parent who is not imaginary.
Your Own Child: Any child who is not someone else's child.
Adopted Child:    A natural child, with a real parent, who is all my own.
--- Rita Laws, PhD

Our children are not ours because they share our genes...
they are ours because we have had the audacity to envision them.
That, at the end of the day...or long sleepless night,
is how love really works.
--- Unknown

Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart - but in it
--- Fleur Conkling Heylinger

Every child deserves a home of his own.
--- Harry Holt

Motherhood & Birth-Motherhood

Dear Abby: You recently printed a letter from "Marylou in Houston" about the pain of placing a child for adoption. When I went through this experience, I wrote a poem. You have my permission to print it if you think it will help others to understand the roller-coaster emotions a birth mother goes through making this decision.
--LISA BOTE-PHILLIPS, ALASKA

Dear Lisa: I certainly do think it will help. Abby

ON THE WINGS OF A PRAYER

I set you free on the wings of a prayer
To fly through life in His tender care,

You're free from the nest and the ties that are bound
Free from the pressures I carry around.

If I kept you I'd only be cutting your wings,
Not offering the chance a true family brings.

The decision I've made has my heart torn in two,
But I know what I'm doing is the best thing for you.

The sky is so vast, the mountains so high
Take wing and remember: I love you.

Goodbye.

--LISA BOTE-PHILLIPS, a birth mother

Is this the dream that I had before I became a mom?
That was like a black and white movie----shadowy, dreamlike, without details.
The life we live is a rainbow of details,
and a richer, more vibrant reality than anything I ever dreamed.
--- Beth M Waggenspack

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.
--- Lin Yutang

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD

Once there were two women who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother

Two different lives shaped to make you one
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it
The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name
One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried you tears

One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do
The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you.

Now, which of these two women, Are you the product of?
Both, my darling, Both, Just two different types of love.
---- Unknown

Moving Ahead

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.
--- Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev

The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
--- Lao-Tzu

Healing does not mean going back to the way things were before,
but rather allowing what is now to move us closer to God
--- Ram Dass

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
--- Goethe

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.
But here was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first,
some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid.
Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that this was my life.
This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness.
Happiness Is the way.
--- Fr. Alfred D Souza

Praise to thee, Oh Lord, for all creation,
Give us thankful hearts that we may see,
All the gifts we share and every blessing,
All things, come of thee
--- John Rutter, Look at the World

If not through the door, then through the window!
--- Russian proverb

I will study and get ready and some day my chance will come.
--- Abraham Lincoln

The man whispered, "God, speak to me" and a Chickadee sang.
But, the man did not hear.
So the man yelled "God, speak to me!" And, the thunder rolled across the sky.
But, the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, "God let me see you." And a star shined brightly.
But the man did not notice.
And, the man shouted, "God show me a miracle!" And, a life was born.
But, the man did not know.
So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here!"
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
But, the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way that you expect.

Ships are safe inside their harbor. But, is that what ships are for ?
--- Thom Bishop, Wake up and dream

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform.
--- William Cowper

Do or do not, there is no try.
--- Yoda

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
--- William J. Bryan

I asked God, "How much time do I have before I die?"
He replied, "Enough to make a difference"................
--- Unknown

We may affirm absolutely that nothing great in the world
has been accomplished without passion.
--- G. W. F. Hegel

Adoption Poem Sites

ComeUnity Adoption Poetry	http://www.comeunity.com/adoption/adopt/poetry.html
Welcome Garden Poetry	http://www.welcomegarden.com/poem.htm
About.com Adoption Poetry Links	http://search.about.com/fullsearch.htm?meta=rs&terms=Adoption+Poetry
Adoption Quotes	http://www.adoptionquotes.org/adoptionquotes.html
Savage Garden "I Knew I Loved You"	http://www.lyricsondemand.com/s/savagegardenlyrics/iknewilovedyoulyrics.html
Wayne Watson "A Place for You"	http://pages.ivillage.com/bylerbunch/ADOPTION/id23.html

Quote Sites

Bartleby.com	http://www.bartleby.com/quotations/
Best Inspiration	http://www.bestinspiration.com/quotes.php3
Bible Gateway (verse lookup)	http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/
St. Anselm College Inspirational Quotes	http://www.anselm.edu/administration/MeeliaCenter/quotes/
The Quote Lady	http://www.quotelady.com/
Verse of the Day Mailing List	http://votd.org/
Quick Inspirations	http://www.quickinspirations.com/

Just Favorites

Anyway - The Paradoxical Commandments (my all-time favorite quote)

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind. Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack if you help them. Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.

--- Kent M. Keith (with additions by Mother Teresa?)

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.

--- Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better,
to paint a picture or write a letter,
bake a cake or plant a seed,
ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
with rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
music to hear and books to read,
friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go, and go you must,
You, yourself, will make more dust.
-- unknown