What surpasses my love of butter and baked goods? Love that flows between parents and their embryo babies! And, perhaps, my love of chocolate. | Credit: tabitha turner via Unsplash
I’ll tell you something surprising.
Here it goes. Are you ready?
You already have the recipe for embryo adoption success. It’s composed of just one ingredient.
Love.
That’s it.
There’s nothing complicated about it.
Yet it means everything.
The level of success you experience with embryo adoption, and by extension parenting, all goes back to that foundation.
When things get hard and you’re unsure whether your adoption plans are going anywhere, ask yourself: Do I have the capacity to love? Do I have love to give?
If the answer is yes—and I suspect it is, in spades (or perhaps more appropriately, Valentine’s Day hearts)—take confidence. You have exactly what it takes to be a good adoptive parent.
When your adoption papers are submitted and you’re waiting on the “Now what?,” be assured. The process is at work in the background. This universe is bigger than you and me. Exciting things are in store.
When disappointment and fear loom large, and scary thoughts keep you up at night, take a moment to pause. Consider that thousands of would-be parents, parents in the thick of raising children, and even grandparents and great-grands have been through this, too.
They’ve stared the unknown square in the eyes and dared it to stop them.
When hard news or sad news threatens to throw you off the path you know you’re called to follow, keep living the way you know is right. Seek the help you need without reservation.
When joy emerges from unexpected places or that call you’ve awaited finally arrives, celebrate it. Reflect on where you’ve been and where you’re going.
Love can’t preserve joy forever or banish all the darkness. But it gives you the strength to keep moving. It affords the abundant compassion you desire to pass along to others. It brings the promise of a brighter tomorrow.
And you are more than capable of using your love for tremendous good.
That’s the ingredient at the heart of every embryo adoption.