Adoptee Writing Contest 2015- Tied for 2nd Place Winner, Sheri Novotny

My Birth Mom   by Sheri Novotny

That call came one December night,

As we just sat down to eat.

My spouse he almost dropped the phone,

When he heard that voice so sweet.

I looked at him unknowingly,

As he prepared to drop the bomb.

He had to sit, get off his feet,

As he announced, “It’s your birth mom!”

I took the phone, held it to my ear

As the voice said, “Hi, it’s your mother.”

Was caught off guard, in disbelief,

and I just wanted to take cover.

God truly had His hand in this,

As the reunion came to pass.

It was what we both wanted,

but it happened all so fast.

We met a couple times you see,

As she struggled with her illness.

Just two quick months I knew her

Before she entered into stillness.

Into my life she did appear,

And then she went away.

The time I spent with her was gold,

But God took her home to stay.

A blessing to have met her,

The one who gave birth to me.

Even though it was for a moment,

I met my birth-mom thankfully.

Even though we talked a little bit,

Never sure just what to say,

A wave of peace came over her,

When she knew I was okay.

One day we’ll meet in heaven,

We’ll sit and talk awhile,

We’ll know each other even better,

The thought makes my heart smile.

For now she’s in the good Lord’s care.

The best care that I know of.

And when I think of my birth mom,

I’ll always think of her love.

A love that I had never known,

Before we met that day.   

Thank you mom for my life,

And making sure I was okay.

Sheri's Bio: I was around 3 weeks old when I was adopted by a Christian family.  Throughout my life, I had always wondered about my birth family. In my forties, I learned I had seven siblings living in Chicago along with my birth mom.  There was a reunion, but my birth mom passed away two months after our meeting.  It was all orchestrated by the good Lord and gave my birth mom immense peace before she passed.

The coolest part about the reunion was that my adopted family members were able to meet most of my birth family.

God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and an awesome son and I know things would have been way different had I not been given up for adoption.

The one thing I never take for granted is being adopted into a Christian family.  They always made me feel like one of their own, which I’ve always appreciated.  And looking at my life story, you can see God had His hand in all of it!

Copyright 2015 ( Permission is needed to reprint this poem in any media form- written or online )