I know, I know. You Adoptive Parents have heard a million times that adoptees should not be expected to be thankful or grateful for their adoption. They should not be made to feel thankful and grateful. They should not have to hear from strangers, immediate family members, and friends that they are “lucky” to be alive.

But here’s the thing. If you ask many adoptees they will say that…

They ARE thankful.

They ARE grateful.

They ARE blessed.

And yes, even some will say that they ARE lucky. 

BUT APs IT’S NOT BECAUSE OF YOU…

it’s not about the APs in their lives. It’s about some stronger force that spoke into us in a small voice “survive, you can do it, survive.” And then as we learned to survive, and learned to be a chameleon to appease a stressful, frustrating, or uncomfortable situation, we also learned to thrive.

WE WILL RISE…..

Not because of our parents who gave us up. Not because of our parents who took us in. Not because of society that daily decides whether we are acceptable or not. We rise because there is a small, silent voice whispering sweet somethings in our ears daily.

ABUSE CAN’T KEEP US DOWN…

because we know what it is. We name it. We point to it. We leave it. We are NOT it.

ADDICTIONS CAN’T TAKE HOLD OF US…..

because we choose  to rise above them.

SOCIETY CAN’T UNDERSTAND US…..

because we are absolutely amazingly beautiful, intricate, complex beings who have found a way in spite of our APs or real parents losing their way.

We are thankful, grateful, and a blessed people group who demanded a voice in our own lives. We had no control over our births, we have no control over our adoptions, we have no control over our deaths….but we DO have control over how we choose to live our LIVES right now.

We are thankful because…

We live

We breathe

We sleep

We eat

We expel

We feel

We ARE

We are grateful because….

We have a chance to turn things around

We have a choice to remain

We have the option to go

We have the ability to BE

We are blessed because…

We can hear the small silent whisper

We can smell the dew on the flowers

We can craft our own lives

We can choose to say YES or NO

WE can take the reins in our OWN lives

So Adoptees, we are right!!! We don’t have to be thankful, grateful, or feel lucky. We don’t have to “thank” them for “saving us” (because salvation comes from with-in, not from with-out)…..but we can CHOOSE to listen to that small, silent whisper that tells us we ARE!