Skip to main content

Good Things Do Come From This

By
Yesterday we had a new hire/intern orientation that equipped us with knowledge and joy to be a part of Gladney. During this day, however my Gladney story whispered in the halls. We took a beautiful tour of our museum in the visitor center, which I personally loved. It was beautiful to hear how historical adoption is and how many hearts fought to make it what it is today, a loving decision celebrated by many. At the end of this tour, we ended up in a place I have walked by many times in the past 6 years. I knew it was there, always praised the Lord when I saw that another family was created in that room, prayed for the women who left there without a piece of their heart, but never once did I think of going into the placement room. Yesterday I saw those four walls for the first time in 6 years and I was surprisingly emotional, but not for the obvious reasons one would assume. It was emotional because it reminded me why I love Gladney. Because it is my story, passion, and my heart is abundantly full of unconditional love for my Olivia and her parents.

About 7 years ago, I wandered into the halls of the Gladney dorm to be surrounded by women who were in the exact same place as me, vulnerability. I was adopted at two days old, as was my sister, so I grew up loving adoption, and had a deeper understanding of why my life was greater because of the hardest decision my birth mom ever had to make. Regardless of my perception of adoption, nothing can ever prepare you for ridding yourself of all selfish desires for a baby you haven’t even held yet. That’s the beauty of the dorm. We didn’t all like the same shows, we fought like typical teenagers full of estrogen, we cried A LOT, we yelled A LOT, but we all had one thing in common, we were sisters through our decision to prepare adoption plans. And let me tell you, we always found ways to bond regardless of our differences. One of my favorite memories of my time at the dorm still brings me to tearful laughter… think of a bunch of pregnant women “dancing” hip-hop to The Black Eyed Peas. Yes, we requested that we have a pregnant hip-hop class every week and don’t let anyone kid you; we were fantastic! When I wasn’t whipping and naenaeing, I was building forever friendships. I still keep up with 10-15 birth moms I met in my time at the dorm and I met my best friend in those walls as well. Gladney gave me forever sisters and became my home.


The staff that I met over the year of me living at my home away from home became my cheerleaders in life. When you hear staff say that Gladney cares about their clients, they probably don’t even know the impact they leave on so many lives. Throughout the past six years, I have been lifted up in prayer, cheered on with encouragement, and reassured when I felt like I lost my way. I have made a path for myself and my goals get checked off as I go. Gladney has cheered me on as I get my degree in business administration, and now they have blessed me with learning from such phenomenal people through an internship. It blows me away how much opportunity a birth mom has by walking through Gladney’s doors. I will forever be thankful and humbled by the people who have impacted my life in this building. Good things can come out of this, they sure did for me and I pray that they do for you too.

-Katie Reisor, Development Intern and Gladney Birth Mom

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's not Business, It's Personal

By
Well, it is the beginning of my second full week here at Gladney as an intern, and it has been wonderful! I think that my favorite part about being here, besides the free cake that randomly shows up in the break room, is the people that are here. I have felt continually supported by each person I come in contact with. Each time I ask a question, or look lost, I am anwered with a smiling face and a helpful attitude! So, thank you Gladney staff! :) As I am typing this, I am overhearing a conversation with a caseworker and one of their clients, and the caseworker is getting to tell the family that they will be able to travel to visit a child in the next month! On the phone the mother started crying at the thought of, possibly , seeing their new baby in a month...and then I started crying as I recognized how special and personal this work is. What is done here touches lives, not only the families lives, but the staff's (and intern's) as well! That family will be changed from today ...
2 comments
Read more

Gladney's ABC program

By
Today I spent most of my time researching how Gladney can improve the web presence of their ABC program. Gladney's ABC program helps place African American and biracial babies with families. In researcing this topic, I learned that there are far more biracial and African American babies who need homes than caucasion ones. Therefore, I think it is important that Gladney do increase the web presence of their ABC program to bring awareness to the availability and need of biracial and African American babies to be adopted. Here's Gladney's ABC page on their website: http://http//www.adoptionsbygladney.com/html/abc/index.php Overall, I thought it would be a great idea for Gladney to provide links for biracial and African American moms to search for prospective parents who want to adopt from the ABC program so that they could more easily find a match and good family for their baby. Hopefully, making the ABC program more accessible will influence prospective adoptive parent...
2 comments
Read more

My Dream Come True!

By
Have you ever had a moment that you thought was insignificant, but it ended up shaping your life and career in a way you never anticipated? That’s how this dream all started! I was thirteen years old, and a group of children from a Russian orphanage traveled to the United States for a summer camp. These precious children were hosted by families interested in adopting them, loving them and giving them a bright future! Many families adopted, and during that time, I witnessed some of the most authentic, selfless sacrifices and love I could ever imagine. My heart broke that day for the fatherless.   Fast forward a few years… okay maybe more like ten, I began passionately pursuing a career in Social Work, knowing my emphasis was going toward children and families. Though I knew there was a need for social workers in CPS, I dreamed of being in an adoption agency. In 2014, my parents were empty nesters and felt called to foster. We were placed with a sweet eight month old boy, who ne...
3 comments
Read more