I guess in order for me to make sense y'all are going to need some background. Yes, some of you know parts of my story, some know all, and some of you have never heard my name. So, I feel it best to start at the beginning! Here goes....
June 1981-Little Rock, Arkansas. 7 years before I was ever even a thought (or a "gleam in my parents eye" as some say) Leon and Lois Southerland told an almost 19 year old Don Steele(My daddy) about a girl in Louisiana. Debbie Mallard, 22,(My mama) was living in DeRidder at the time and was quite certain God had lost her husband some where along the way!! Little did she know that within just two weeks she would start planning her wedding!!
Dad came down that summer just to meet her at the Bible Missionary Church camp meeting. Mom swore she would never date someone younger than her and wasn't too thrilled that this young punk was coming to meet her. She was positive he would be too immature for her and her ideas of what a husband should be.
But God. Aren't those amazing words?! So many times in my life I didn't understand things...why they happened,what the purpose was, why things didn't happen, how any good could come from it....But God! He is always working things out for us, even when we don't understand. This sounds like I have a lot of faith. I don't. It's probably one of my greatest struggles. I also struggle with a lot of anger from not understanding why. But God, once again, is helping me learn to take things one day at a time and fully rely on Him and that it isn't necessary for me to understand everything. I'm just too nosy sometimes. Ha!
Okay, I got sidetracked...
I'm pretty sure Dad was already in love before he even met Mom! Ha! Once they met it didn't take long for them to fall in love, obviously. Two weeks later he came down for another visit and while out on a drive along some back roads, he stopped at a stop sign, and asked her to marry him. She, of course, said yes and they had a smooch. Then Dad promptly opened the car door and threw up. This is seriously my favorite part of my parents love story. It cracks me up!! Haha! 😂
A short 6 months later, on December 5, 1981 they got married in Little Rock and began their life together. 💓
I know this isn't MY story but there are relevant facts that apply to my story. And had they not met and gotten married, only God knows where I would have ended up. So, see? Even 7 years before I was born, God was writing my story...
I'm not positive on when exactly it happened but not long after they got married, I think within the first year, Dad got electrocuted. They lived in a small mobile home and on their bed they had an electric blanket. They went to bed one night and had the blanket folded down at the foot of the bed. A bad storm had come in and there was lightening. I don't know the specifics of how it all works but somehow the lightening traveled through the wires and into that blanket. Dad had his feet laying on the blanket and that is how he got electrocuted. The ironic thing is he was a lineman at the time and still works for a power company today! Thankfully he wasn't hurt too bad but it did cause problems with them being able to have biological children.
Along with this happening to Dad they discovered that Mom had endometriosis. The combination of his accident and her illness caused them to suffer from infertility. They tried for many years and went through some treatments. However, this was more than 30 years ago and they didn't have the options we have today. So, after many disappointing months, as those of us in the infertility boat understand, they started considering adoption.
Now, I told y'all in my first blog that I am adopted and my children are/will be. This is a subject that means so much to me and I am very passionate about it. I may have some strong feelings come out on this subject! 😀
Here's the first one....why is it so dadgum expensive to adopt??!! Y'all. It's insane!! When we started looking for an attorney for Emerson's adoption there were some that quoted us upwards of $40k. Like what?! Obviously we didn't use them but a lot are around that price. Especially if you use an agency. Who can afford that? Not a regular ole Joe, that's for sure!!
So, here you have all these people that are dying to have children and can't, people that don't want to have children and are, and no one who can afford to do what the child needs. I've talked to people who have said "We would love to adopt but we just can't afford it." And I totally understand!!
Mom and Dad were in this boat and didn't have the option to go through an adoption agency, so they begin to pray.
And God answered. 💓
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