Adoption can be a tough decision for many pregnant mothers. The grief from carrying a child to term only to give the child away to another family may seem unbearable. Still, accomplished Christian recording artist Mark Schultz is glad his mother made this difficult choice thirty-nine years ago.
“When you gave me up/ You gave everything to me,” Schultz tells his birth mother in his song Everything to Me. Mark was adopted in Kansas at the age of two weeks. Mark’s adoptive parents raised him in a loving, Christian home. Mark played sports, sang in the choir, and lead a youth group for nine years. Finally, in 2000, Mark gained the courage to pursue his dream of becoming a recording artist.
In the “Story Behind the Song,” Mark explains that he never thought about the significance of his adoption until an adoption counselor from Bethany Christian Services made him realize what a loving decision Mark’s biological mother made:
“A birth mom has 3 options: she can have an abortion, and you wouldn’t be here right now. She could’ve given birth to you and said ‘you know what, I don’t have a great life, and I don’t have a lot of money, and I’m not in a great situation, but this is my kid, and I’m going to keep it whether it has a great life or not.’”
“She did the most unselfish thing because she carried you for nine months through the pain and the struggles of that, and then gave birth to you, and then held you and looked you in the eyes, and said ‘I love you so much that I can’t keep you to myself because I can’t give you the best life.’ And she handed you off to a family who loved you and cared for you and gave you the best life.”
It took awhile for these words to sink in, but once they did, Mark began to think, “What would I say to my birth mom if I ever met her?” This inspiration led Schultz to write Everything to Me. Mark wanted his birth mom to know that she did make the right decision, and he did turn out okay.
Now that Mark is married, he and his wife Kate are thinking of adopting a child of their own. Mark only hopes that more young pregnant women will listen to his song and be inspired to stand up for Life.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MarkSchultzMusic1#p/u/0/OPYaRJOWznk
http://www.youtube.com/user/BethanyChristianSvcs#p/a/0DDAB27E528BC5B2/0/Z61zdZJ9uZc
