Mother's Day 2004

Mother's Day 2004 found me waking up in a hotel room in Beijing, China full of excitement and anticipation. Finally the day we'd been waiting so long for had arrived. In February of 2004 I had discovered that Lily was on our agency's waiting child list. This list is reserved for children born with medical conditions and they are placed on various adoption agency lists. Our agency had five children listed and Lily was one of them. She was listed as having imperforate anus and I had no clue what that meant or what it would come to mean in our future. All I knew was that she was my daughter and had she been born to me I would have accepted her medical condition and done everything possible to help her.

We boarded a flight from Beijing to Guangzhou in Southern China. My stomach was in knots I was so excited. Our facilitator gave me a silk scarf and wished me a Happy Mother's Day. We checked into our hotel and rested for a bit and then left to be united with our daughter. I knew when I walked out of that hotel room I would return a different person.

When she walked into the room at the Civil Affairs building my heart melted and there was such a sense of familiarity between us. Lily was scared and unsure but I felt that she instantly became ours as if she had been waiting all along for us to come and get her.

President Hinckley has said, "When you save a girl, you save generations. She will grow in strength and righteousness. She will marry in the temple. She will teach her children the ways of truth. They will walk in her path and similarly teach their children."

This is what I felt that day in China 3 years ago as I held a frail child in my arms. Mother's Day for me will always be linked with this event.