The meaning of family reaches far beyond the norms of society, proving that love knows nothing of skin color.
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Aaron and Rachel Halbert reached the headlines of The Washington Post with their truly inspiring story. The couple work as Presbyterian missionaries, traveling to places around the world to help people in need with their church.
The two had always wanted to adopt an African American child since they found out that Caucasian children were more likely to be adopted first. It was almost as if God was giving them the direction they needed to adopt a child that would not get an equal chance to have a forever-loving home. Not long after, Aaron and Rachel adopted two children from Mississippi that did not have the same Caucasian traits they did.
Unfortunately, with supporters come also adversaries. Many accepted the couples choice immediately, knowing the two had wanted this for a very long time and would be amazing parents. Others, unfortunately, responded to the couple's choice with racism and disagreement.
A while later the couple found out about the National Embryo Donation Center. They then knew that they wanted to expand their family, but with the intention of making their other two children feel like they fit in. So Rachel had two African American female embryo's implanted into her uterus. They expected twin girls. Much to their surprise, one of those embryos split in two, blessing the couple with triplets instead of twins! Aaron's statement from The Washington Post summed up the amazing experience.
"This past Sunday, my gorgeous wife - a white evangelical, like me – gave birth to our beautiful African American triplet daughters whom we adopted as embryos. These sweet girls will hopefully soon be coming home to meet their three-year–old African American brother and two-year-old biracial sister, both of whom we adopted as infants. The normalcy of this paragraph is something I have come to take for granted. Yet what seems to us to be the logical outcome of being pro-life is still something that to others often needs much explaining".
This couple and their beautiful family are the example that diversity and acceptance will make the world a stronger place. What the Halbert's did is something called transracial adoption, which mean that a child was placed with a family of another race. They were right about non-Caucasian children being adopted slower, only 8 percent of transracial adoptions happen a year. A small percentage considering there are roughly 120,000 adoptions each year.
The Halbert's story should be a true inspiration for people across the US. Many citizens are still battling racism, but this story is one that knocks down racial barriers that are still being held up today. The heart that these two individuals have for pro-life and acceptance is the turning point our society needs to take the next step past the older norms into a new age that does not include racism. I can say that from my own experience of reading their story has broadened my horizons. I fully support what this couple has done and any other people that will follow their lead. I know that now I am considering adopting in the future. So thank you Aaron and Rachel Halbert for being an inspiration to millions of people!
