#175: Helping Your Child Honor and Grieve Birth Parents with Jennifer Woolley

Jennifer has a unique perspective because of the opportunity she’s had to walk through the adoption journey as a birthmother and also as an adoptive mother. Faced with an unplanned pregnancy in college, Jennifer chose to place her son for adoption. After marrying her husband, Rusty in 2005, God led them through infertility to reveal His plan for them to grow their family through adoption. Through the very same agency that Jennifer placed her son, they were given the chance to become parents to two more sons. "As parents of adopted children, we have the sometimes difficult job of teaching them to embrace their stories. No matter what hard places they come from, those roots and their birth family are a piece of their identity that we must love and honor. By doing that, we give our children the confidence to love themselves because of the honor and love that we show.” As an adoptive mom, Jennifer has been given the opportunity to use the rejection and loss that she feels as a birthmother, to help her sons celebrate the life that they have been given and understand the love of their birthmothers. As you hear Jennifer’s story and begin to see through the eyes and heart of a birthmother, may it help you more clearly identify ways to love your child by honoring the one who chose life for them. Click here to download a transcript for this episode. Relevant Links Connect with Jennifer on Instagram Connect with Jennifer on IG Email Jennifer at [email protected]