Some years ago my daughter realized that she would not be able to raise her little daughter. At that time my granddaughter, then three years old, had been living with me for almost a year. Although my daughter is not a Christian Scientist, she is a very loving, caring person, and has been willing to have me pray for her and her child. Both of us wanted the best for the child, but she was so much a part of our lives that we could not imagine giving her up for adoption and maybe never seeing her again.
I prayed for a better understanding of family, with God as the divine Parent of us all. I listened for God's direction and prayed for the openness to be guided to take the right steps. I feel that as a result of that praying, around that time I read about open adoptions, in which the birth and adopting families become acquainted with each other and continue to have contact with one another. This seemed promising to both of us.
As my daughter and I investigated the possibilities, I preceded and supported any steps I took with prayer, asking Mind, God, to guide me in the right direction and to let me listen to only His voice and to hear what would be right for us to do. A passage from Proverbs was the basis of my prayer: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (3:5, 6).
