Damascus Grace

I heard this question today on a podcast ....

Where have you had a Damascus moment this week where Christ showed up either personally or cosmically in a surprising way?

That question was asked by Paul on the "Another Name for Everything" with Richard Rohr.  Paul & Brie ask questions and share thoughts too.  It is quite entertaining - and each weekly episode makes my brain hurt and my heart smile.

But this question ...

I think it is extremely good for us - extremely important to think about our Damascus moments.  To think of the times that our attention was grabbed by the Divine announcing to us - Hey - Look - Watch - Be a part of - all this Christ Love and Glory.

We have been to Tennessee.  We had a Damascus moment the entire time!  It was seeing Christ show up so very personally - so many ways.

The first surprise ....

Beautiful flowers waiting for me at the hotel from my brother & nephew.  What a wonderful surprise - a gesture that welcomed me from the first moment.

Nephew Dylan, Height challenged me, and Brother David

From the very moment that I received the DNA results - I knew that my family settled in the Tennessee mountain area.  The research of the ancestors revealed cemeteries in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains as their final resting spot.  Visiting those cemeteries was the first memory on my to do list.

And - just in case you are wondering - it is pronounced "Ornsburg" 

Then the place where so many are resting ....

My great grandparents - Will & Creta 

Along the way we met family - we saw places - and we walked on the grounds.  We were a part of that earth that has held my family since the 1700s.  A family that I just recently found - a family that has impacted my life since I was born even though I did not know them until now.

And that wonder that I have had since too young to remember - that wonder of do I look like anyone??

The greatest Damascus moment of this journey was meeting her.

More to come ... and a book too.

Inhabiting Grace

I have been to Tennessee

A girl & A mom

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.

3 until ... 7 Days of Grace

I sure never had any idea where I would be (exactly)  3 weeks after this picture.

It is not the best picture of me - but it is accurate.  The smile - the shirt - the joy!!!

It was 3 weeks ago that the phone rang, I looked at my watch - saw where the number was from and answered the call.

Do you remember that I have a doctorate in education?  That is how I signed my name - Dr. Cheryl Cannon Groves on her card.  I wanted to do that for lots of reasons.  Every single word that I wrote on that card was thought out - planned - shared for specific purposes.  I wanted her to know that I am not some person coming to look for anything.

I am a person looking for her.

During the whole "finding your birth parents" journey - more than one person will ask you why are you doing that.  I have answered that question so many times.  But it is DJ who knows the answer best.  She has told me over and over these last 6 weeks or so - Cheryl - you just always wanted to know.

So why?

Just to know Her.  It has been a missing piece that I simply cannot explain.  I don't know if every adopted kid has this feeling - but I do and I suspect I will - until Day 3 becomes the Day.  (It is important to note that "why" has never been my end game - today "why" only matters if she needs to share - "why" does not matter to me.)

My Mother and My Daughter in Law

My daughter in law is just amazing.  She works 3 days a week with us - and yesterday she helped make a beautiful thing happen.

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them."

I lead a ladies bible study class on Wednesday nights at my church.  I have done this off and mostly on for years.  We have the best time - and some come and go, some come and stay, but there are a couple who just really - really "get" me.  One of those - gathered my family together and with my friends from class last night - they all prayed over me.  It was the most amazing experience.

My friend is on the floor saying the most beautiful prayer - Remember how we talked about that vulnerable part yesterday?  This kind of experience is often times vulnerable for me.  Usually I find that I completely lose it and cry and cry (and therefore - not really going to participate in that so much!)

Not last night.  It gave me the best calming feeling - ever.  Total Peace.  My friends are truly gathering in His name to call Him to be in our midst.  To call on Him.  To thank him for my Mother & Father for raising me in such a way that allows me to even embark on this journey.  

Cannon, Me, Kambrey, DJ, Kain

3 of the most precious grandkids and great grandkids of DJ.  My grandchildren bring so much joy to my life and to DJ's.  

I have 3 boys - she now has 3 children.  

That phone call just 3 weeks ago was the beginning of a life time.  I was prepared to never hear from her because let's be honest - this is a whole bunch to process for a person.  She never - just like me - never expected to be able to connect.   But it was important for me to find out some particular information.  I needed to know - does her family cheer for Alabama or Auburn?  Because while it is not a complete deal breaker - we might just have to work on not seeing each other in the fall.

I am almost kidding.  Remember - that Alabama/Auburn thing seems even greater than the Texas/Texas A&M thing.  So it is important.

All good - roll tide!  My new family even have direct connections to the University of Alabama - those connections to be shared in the midst of football season.  But how much fun to finally be able to tell my Texas friends that not only did Son One live in Alabama and learned to love the University.  But my family have always been Alabama fans - and I am too!

What a journey.  What fun.  What a vulnerable Grace.

7 Days of Grace

3 (maybe 2) days until I am in Tennessee

3 weeks ago

3 to Love

My dear friend Stacy - who organized the prayer circle.  What a joy to know her!!!

My shirt for today ...
 "She was powerful not because she wasn't scared but because she went on so strongly despite the fear. ~ Atticus" 

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.

5 until .... 7 Days of Grace

What is an elder of a church?  Titus in the Bible shared that an elder should:

Show hospitality, love what is good, and be reasonable, ethical, godly, and self - controlled.

My husband is an elder in our church.  He hasn't always been an elder and he hasn't always been interested in this birth family journey.  But I must say - his wisdom is priceless.  His ability to love what is good is a driving force in our family.  And the support and detective work this man has done has made the difference.

One of my favorite pictures of us - taken in September 2018

A goal he has had for his role as an elder is to have people in our home.  That is exactly what we have done - we have invited people to our home for dinner.  We try to do this once at least every 2 weeks.  We have about 40 church members that are identified as part of Kerry's group.  On March 7th - we had

5
church members in our home.

You need the background story ....

After Kerry was willing to bet the safe - I really needed confirmation.  So I got a court order from the Dallas county court to unseal my adoption file.  This file would have my birth parents names.

After getting the court order - I was required by Texas law to meet with an adoption counselor for an hour. Then all the requirements are met and I will receive my file about a week later.  During that meeting I requested that I be given my birth parents' names.  I explained that I believed that we had in fact found the birth mother - but before I jumped out and did what I wanted to do - I needed the final confirmation.  (evidently a gun safe isn't enough for me ...)

Remember March 6?  I wanted to send her a birthday card for her birthday.  I needed confirmation before I disrupted a world!!! And confirmation I received .....  So on Monday, March 4th - I mailed a birthday card.

It is important to note that I did not have ANY recent information about my Mother.  In our internet detective work we found that she had residence in this place in 2016 - but we really did not have anything since the 2016.  Since I had recently experienced a medical situation with my Mom and I knew that many times family members open mail - I wanted to leave this enough generic that if someone else opened the card - it really would not matter.

Please note my birthday at the bottom of the card.  

I honestly expected that it would be months - if not longer before I heard from her.  My prayer was to not get the card returned in the mail.  So on Thursday March 7th when we had 5 church friends at our home and my phone rings - I look where the call is from - glance at Kerry and tell him that I have to take the call - I have never been more thrilled and surprised all in one evening.

Oh  my word.  I left Kerry and the guests to get the food to the table (Kerry missed the mashed potatoes - we had to come back to those - and Tennessee family - do you say "mashed potatoes" or "creamed potatoes"???) - Kerry and the guests - got the food and sat down to eat.

I was in the driveway talking.  Heaven knows cell phones do not work in our home.  We talked for over 30 minutes and I am sure I cried pretty much the entire way through the conversation.

I never can recall a story in order.  Never.  And this time I really cannot either.  But it was maybe the best conversation of my life.

Upon reflection - here are some things that are coming together for this 5th day of Grace:

The description at the beginning of the chapter says:   A pilgrimage song.  

My mom (DJ, Jeanette) is the best role model for any mother of an adopted child.  Seriously - many could learn from her.  She always knew that I needed to know that I was adopted - always told me.  And for as long as I could remember she told me that if I wanted to find my birth family - it would be with her blessing.  I think I now understand that why as a young girl growing up in church that Romans 8:28 was my verse.  

Last night Her son (my 1/2 brother) talked to my mom.  He told her thank you.  It was perhaps the most amazing conversation I have ever listened to.  It was beautiful.  My mom is so thankful for the Love she is being shown.  

As unusual as all of this - here is my suggestion.  Just read and roll along.  We are on really new ground.  I know there are other adopted - birth family stories but I have never read any of them.  For me it is about telling our story and honoring 2 amazing women in my life.  

And this blog is about me.  As hard as that is to write because I pretty much never do things with me as the central focus.  

My dad left earth in July of 2016.  He was my cheerleader.  Really he was. It still makes my eyes sweat to think of him gone.  And he would have loved this journey.  He would have been so happy for me.  If I would have asked him at the beginning what he thought - he would have said "Have you prayed about it?" Before it was a trendy thing to do - my dad was asking "what would Jesus want you to do?".

When my dad left - we wanted their gravesite to be one that represented who they were - so we chose to add scriptures.  My dad's is John 3:16 - always his go to verse. 

I always loved the verse my mom chose for her side.  I thought it was meaningful and I love hearing her recite it in the King James Version.   I certainly never imagined where her pilgrimage would take me.  Funny - the version I chose for the scripture below uses the word "mountains" - She wants to see the mountains too - I hope I have the chance to take her one day.

I am slowly but surely figuring out that both of my families have leaned on that understanding in Jesus.  

What a wonderful story to have.

7 Days of Grace

5 days until I am in Tennessee

5 church friends

4 to Love

That is NOT a typo.

I moved the flight up a day.

I will SEE Her on Saturday!  

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.

7 Until .... 7 Days of Grace

I have found my birth mother.

Let me say that again.

I have found my birth mother.

I actually figured it out a little over a month ago and the last few weeks we have spent connecting - and she has had to figure out how to maneuver through her family.

Her Family.

Oh my word... And My Family.

When I really began trying to figure out which of my birth parents was connected to the Witt Family - we searched records and records and records on the Ancestry website, the Find a Grave website, and just about anywhere else we could think of.

I got pretty descent at recognizing names, dates, and figuring out how they fit together.

7

I found - seven generations:

7 - My Birth Mother
6 - My Grandfather - My Grandmother (they had 6 children)
Albert Royce Witt & Lucille Eleanor Witt (oh by the way - she passed away in 2016 .... I just barely missed her!)
5 - Her Paternal Grandparents - Her Maternal Grandparents
William & Creta Kelley Witt - Rollie Edward & Tina Dalton West
4 - Michael Witt (Although I found his name spelled Mikel also) and Leander West
3 - Burgess Witt and Jesse & Cecelia West
2 - Burgess Witt and William Preston West
1 - Hezekiah Witt and Thomas West are the 7th generation back.

When I started this journey - I had the opportunity to email my cousin.  We did not know we were first cousins at the time - in fact most things indicated to us that I was a second cousin.  But he shared:

The Witt family can be traced back to within about 60 years of the founding of Jamestown.
Some fought in the American Revolutionary War and the families settled in the Appalachian Mountains.

Those 2 pieces of information were the beginning and everywhere Kerry and I turned on the search landed us in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.  That alone just blew my mind.   I never in my wildest dreams (which have been happening for about 40 years) did I dream that I would be part of a family with such a rich American Frontier history.  I honestly should have paid more attention in all of those history classes.  It would make this research much easier.

I never dreamed of finding such an identified family. I realize that "we" all can end up in Jamestown - but I can get really close to finding the person in Jamestown.  Wow.

Revolutionary War - Civil War (with ancestors that fought on both sides - the brothers against brothers/cousins against cousins is very real in the Witt / West families)

When it became obvious that my ancestors were truly the Witt Family and after every ancestor showed up in the cemeteries in Monroe County Tennessee - I decided the first trip to Tennessee would include walking on that land.

The land where I began.  But the best part of the story....

When I shared my travel itinerary with my birth mother - she emailed the following:

God has led me to see you when you come.  Are you interested in having company on your trip to Tellico Plains and Coker Creek?  

I absolutely could not stop crying.  That was the moment that I realized I will meet my birth mother.  I will see her - 

She will go with us - to the very place that I have been wanting to go.

And so ... 

7 Days of Grace

7 days until I am in Tennessee 

7 Generations

7 to Love

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.