Lydia and her two kids, photo courtesy of Alison Lea Photography
Lydia found out she was pregnant in September of 2014. She already had two children, a 4-year-old and a baby. The father of her unborn child was a drug abuser and an unsafe person to be around. On top of it all, Lydia had just become homeless because of some poor decision making. Pregnant and homeless with two young children, she says she was absolutely lost.
“I very quickly realized that I couldn’t support three children under the age of five at this time of my life. I needed help,” said Lydia.
Lydia contacted New Life in December of 2014. “I was welcomed with open, understanding arms. My social worker became more than just a social worker. She became my friend. She was there for me whenever I needed to talk and helped me come up with a plan for me to get back on my feet,” said Lydia.
With the help of a New Life Social Worker, she applied for housing at Naomi Family Residence, a safe transitional housing program for single mothers and their children. She believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was working in her life at this moment.
“This is exactly where he wanted me to be. When I got the call that I had been accepted into their program, I dropped to my knees and rededicated my life to Christ. Since that day, God has been showing Himself to me again and again. From my pregnancy, providing food, shelter and clothing for me and my kids, to the rent we needed for our new place,” said Lydia.
Lydia moved into Naomi on December 22, 2014. And had faith that with God on her side, anything was possible, even going through with her pregnancy.
“I started thinking about adoption knowing in my heart that the best thing I wanted for my unborn child was something I couldn’t give her at this time in my life. I wanted her to have a loving mother and father, I didn’t want her to need for anything,” said Lydia.
Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by who we cry, Abba! Father!”
Choosing the Right Family
Hillary, Ella and Eric, Photo Courtesy of Locked Photography
Lydia grew up in an adopted family, and wanted my child to experience the love of two parents. So she worked with a social worker at New Life to start the adoption process. She started looking at adoptive family profiles, and Eric and Hillary stuck out.
“When we had our first meeting with Lydia, it was awkward at first. However, about half way through our birth mom started laughing with a little tear in her eye. Her social worker checked to make sure she was ok, and said yes. She then shared that every time we would speak, little baby girl would jump and kick,” said Eric.
Hillary, Eric and Ella
“She kicked as if to tell me that he was her forever daddy. That was it. I knew that this baby belonged to them,” said Lydia. “I wanted my child to be a blessing to them.”
When Eric and Hillary received word that Lydia had chosen them, they were ecstatic.
“We were over the moon and couldn’t control our excitement. Many tears of joy were flowing and we have sent up praises to God ever since. All the waiting and pain was worth it,” said Eric.
Part way through her pregnancy, the doctors wanted to terminate the pregnancy because the baby’s brain wasn’t growing as big as it should have been. Doctors told her that the baby wasn’t going to make it to term. Lydia also had ovarian cancer and the doctors wanted her to make sure that I was taking care of myself.
“I just kept telling them ‘Let’s just see how it goes a week at a time,’” said Lydia.
Psalm 56:3-4 “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”
A Healthy Baby Girl
Amazingly, God proved the doctors wrong. Ella was born on June 15th, 2015, full term and with no complications. She’s a perfectly healthy baby girl. Hillary was with Lydia in the delivery room to see her little girl being born.
Lydia and Hillary with Ella at the New Life Fall 2015 Banquet
“God has brought this little girl in our life and washed away our pain and grief. Praise God for the blessing of adoption,” said Hillary.
“I know Ella will grow up with the best possible future because she has the best parents anyone could ask for. I hope she will know that I didn’t place her for adoption because I didn’t want her, but because I wanted her to have the best possible future,” said Lydia.
“Everything I have been through in the past year has only been possible with God by my side. He has opened doors for me that I didn’t think were possible. I have given my life back to Christ and now have hope for the future,” said Lydia.
Eric and Hillary too say that through this process God has revealed his faithfulness.
“We are changed forever by adoption. Adoption was a piece in our lives that was missing. God helped us find our missing piece and now we feel complete,” said Hillary. “We look forward to raising our daughter to be a strong, courageous child of God! And hope and pray that our birth mom will be a part of that journey.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
A Hopeful Future for Lydia
“Since I placed Ella for adoption, my life took off. My hopes and my goals are for my children to have a better life than the one I had, to go to college, and to learn from my mistakes,” said Lydia.
Lydia and her two kids, Photo Courtesy of Alison Lea Photography
Lydia wants to go back to school to be a cake decorator, since she already has a culinary degree, she says she wants to run her own bakery. For the immediate future, Lydia is focused on finishing the two-year program at Naomi, with hopes of getting a place of her own and to pay off her debts.
“This whole process has been God working through me, through her (Ella). The most rewarding parts of this adoption process, has been three things: Growing closer to my children, a new friendship with my case worker at New Life who I know will not judge me, and that my kids and I gained a new family through Eric and Hillary,” said Lydia.
“Lydia has always said that our daughter chose us. We feel so blessed to have Lydia in our life. It is a beautiful relationship unlike any other and we can’t wait to have Ella get to know her more,” said Hillary.
