Being different is not easy. My parents abandoned me because of my strange eyes, and no one wanted to adopt me. But soon after, God sent someone who gave me not just love
“She’ll make things difficult for us. So, we don’t want to raise her.” That’s what my parents said when they gave me up at an orphanage.
I wasn’t born blind but with unusual silver eyes. Usually, abandoned newborns are adopted quickly, but nobody wanted to adopt me. I can’t explain in words how terrible I felt when people looked down upon me just because I had unusual eyes.
As time went on, I kept waiting that one day someone would accept me and I would have a family too. But sadly, that day didn’t arrive.
Once, a couple wanted to adopt a child my age, but when I was introduced to them, they said they were looking for “normal kids.”
“I’m sorry, but her eyes … they’re scary,” I heard the man saying. “We want to adopt a normal child, not someone like her.”
I was only eight when this happened. But I remember I couldn’t stop crying after the man had made such remarks. I felt as if I would never be accepted because of my unusual eyes. But everything changed the day a young volunteer named Alex came in.
He heard my story and felt so sorry for me that he visited me every day. After a month, he even decided to adopt me but was rebuffed because of his past.
Alex had a tough childhood. He lost his parents when he was 12 years old and was raised on the streets. He was a good guy who fell into the wrong company.
“As a recovering addict with a criminal record, you can’t be an adoptive parent to this girl,” the woman in the orphanage told him.
“But I’ve changed,” Alex argued. “Plus, I’ve been clear for five years already!”
“I’m sorry, sir, but that’s the law. I can’t allow you,” she explained.
“Can you please consider my requests once? I really want to adopt that girl,” Alex insisted. But she turned down Alex’s request.
“I wish I could become your family, but I’ll do my best to find the best parents for you,” Alex told me that day. I thanked Alex for his efforts, but I also wanted to tell him there was no point putting in so much hard work. I knew deep down that nobody would adopt me.
Three months passed. Alex did everything he could to spread my story around the world—social media, newspapers, ads, everything. Although he received a lot of likes and shares, nobody applied for adoption.
Soon, my birthday came, and I turned 9. I celebrated my birthday at the orphanage with Alex. I was content that even if nobody adopted me, I at least had Alex, who loved me and cared for me. But the next day, good news came.
“Can we meet this incredible girl tomorrow? We are interested in adopting her,” a message to Alex read.
Alex couldn’t contain his excitement when he read it. “Finally, you will have a family, Beth! I’m so happy for you,” he told me.
Yes, I was happy, but I didn’t want to keep my hopes high. And it was good that I didn’t. Because the appointment time arrived soon, but no one showed up.
However, the next day, while I was playing with Alex at the orphanage, the doorbell rang. It was the couple standing at the doorstep. “Hi, we’re here to meet Alex. He asked us to come yesterday, but we got caught up with something,” they told the man from the orphanage who received them at the door.
“Oh yes, he’s here. You can see him,” the man replied and brought them in to see Alex.
“I’m sorry, but we met with a small accident yesterday on our way to the orphanage so that we couldn’t make it on time,” they told Alex.
“Are you Jason Smith? The one who contacted me via email?” Alex inquired.
“Yes!” Mr. Smith replied. “This is Caroline, my wife. Can we meet Beth now? We are really excited to see her.”
“Yes, sure!” Alex replied with a smile.
Mrs. Smith couldn’t contain herself when she saw me. She took my hand in hers and cradled me in her arms. “It’s hard to explain, but I knew you’d be our family the moment I saw your picture,” she said.
I smiled back at her and hugged her. Soon, Mr. and Mrs. Smith finished all the paperwork and brought me home. They also invited Alex and introduced him to their elder daughter, Michelle.
Since the adoption, Alex visited the Smiths’ house every day, but not only because of me—he started dating Michelle. Well, they do make a good pair!
I can’t express how grateful I am to have met the Smiths and Alex. It’s due to Alex and his efforts that I now have more love than I could ever wish for. I believe it’s easy to be the girl with silver eyes because people with golden hearts love me.
Oh, by the way, I want to share some good news with you as I write this. I turned 18 this year. After what I went through as a child, I decided to establish a foundation dedicated to assisting children abandoned at an early age.
Alex and Michelle got married a few years back, and both of them are working, so they don’t get enough time to spend with me, but they’ve promised that they’ll help me set up the foundation. I hope through my initiative, more helpless children will be able to find the love and care they deserve.
What can we learn from this story?
- Relationships are built with love and care and not necessarily blood. The way the Smiths accepted Beth and looked after her proves this.
- When God takes away something, he always gives something in return. That something is more valuable sometimes. God took Beth’s parents away from her at a young age but later gifted her with a caring family.
- Do good and spread goodness. The way Alex went above and beyond for Beth and Beth’s decision to aid needy children are excellent examples of this.
