From Nursing To CAC Adoption Consultant: MacKenzie’s Story

CAC Adoption Consultant and Adoptive Mama, MacKenzie, shares a bit of her experience in transitioning from the field of nursing to an Adoption Consultant. We pray her story and her words would be an encouragement to you today!

I am not the type of person to be super passionate about a LOT of things. When I am passionate about something, it means everything. Adoption is one of those said things. By adoption I don’t mean just the bringing home a baby part. By adoption I mean, appreciating and respecting the beginning, middle, and forever parts. There is so much about adoption that I had never really considered prior to being an adoptive parent myself. But it didn’t take me long to start learning. I am still learning and as an adoptive parent, a transracial one at that, it is my responsibility to learn for forever as I get to parent the one I was chosen to parent. 

So why would I leave my lucrative and fulfilling career as a nurse to become an adoption consultant? Thats a great question, and I am so thankful you asked.  So here it goes…

In our relatively short time in the adoption world, we have experienced a mix of all the things. From the pivotal and sacred moments of meeting our son to walking away from really painful losses, we have felt all of the feels and have smile lines and the scars to prove both. And if we ever get the chance to sit across from each other with a cup of something someday and you want to hear how my experiences have shaped me, I would welcome it wholeheartedly. But, I will settle with this for now. Something that started as a passion to love babies who I didn’t grow myself, turned into something so much bigger. It turned into loving every piece of adoption. Starting with mama’s looking for different opportunities and continuing with a lifetime of learning to love better and more selflessly. 

So, this is why I chose to pursue walking other families through adoption. Because I have found a passion and heart there that demands attention. For appreciating and demanding the ethical practices of how and why a mama chooses another to raise her baby. For the support she deserves in whatever she feels is best. For giving her space to feel all of the feels and to encourage her to make the best decision for her child. Unashamed and supported, regardless of what she chooses. The place and family she feels the most peace with. 

But also for the families who wait, and dream, and long for their families to grow. For those who have never seen a pink plus sign. For those who listen to the Lord’s call to love littles who grew inside of their hearts and not in their tummies. For the families who hear no after no, until their ‘yes’. For the families who walk through failed pieces of adoption- for them to experience and extend a grace and peace that transcends all understanding. 

And then to the families who get to love their new addition. A sacred and sweet bundle of love, but also encouraging them to love far beyond that. To create and give space to the birth mom and family that gave life to their hopes and dreams. This lifelong experience of blending the giver and the chosen. A life of learning and growing from all aspects of adoption, in ways no one ever thought possible or knew existed. 

Friends, adoption begs and demands for so much. But, through the hard and almost impossible sometimes, is the sweet space where adoption is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. So, I chose to step outside of my comfort and career to help others find that space. The space that only the Lord provides, and I am here for every part of it. 

Originally posted on Mackenzie’s (CAC Adoption Consultant) blog.