Give Thanks for Beauty Found in a Troubled World

Saturday morning I walked into the Polk County Courthouse and proceeded through security. Years of overcrowding and countless function over form governmental upgrades have scarred the once grand building that was pressed into service during another community celebration over 103 years ago. Fluorescent lights provide functional illumination yet cast a dingy glow upon the walls and grand staircases. Built during the final gasps of the Victorian architectural age, the building has a flamboyant dome which seems to float overhead, but goes unnoticed by most who walk beneath it. The courtrooms have stood witness to many sorrow filled sagas and tragic endings over the years, but today is about new beginnings, life and the very human pursuit of happiness.

The trials, attorneys and normal hubbub have been replaced today with ceremonies, families and laughter. I walk past children and adults who are talking excitedly as they stand amidst tables loaded with cakes and cookies. Balloons have been tied to some of the ornate banisters. I pause near the first courtroom door at the top of the second floor stairs and look into a room crowded with soon to be Americans.

I enter a third floor courtroom. Sitting on the railings surrounding the century old jury box, judge’s desk and clerk’s area are stuffed animals and bean bag toys, gifts for the children who we celebrate today. On this Adoption Saturday, 42 children will officially gain what many of us have always taken for granted, a family. I watch a family find their seats. Each of the three or four teenage boys, parents, aunts and uncles proudly wear a button with the picture of the smiling, curly haired girl who sits on her daddy’s lap playing with a teddy bear in the fourth row.

A couple of judges speak to those assembled and then a dynamic, superhero of a foster mom takes to the podium. She represents Children & Families of Iowa’s Elevate, a youth-driven program that inspires change, compassion and connection for foster and adoptive youth in Iowa. She is proud of Des Moines, Polk County and Iowa, and she tells us about the special kids with whom she has the privilege to work.

The Elevate representative introduces a burly, high school linebacker of a kid. He is shaking a bit, but in a strong voice he recites a poem to a roomful of teary eyed strangers. He tells how life with his mom and her abusive boyfriend led to his being adopted by his guardian angel, his grandmother. Eight years of happiness ended when she passed away. He spent some time with his birth mother until she went back to jail, and he bounced between aunts and uncles until he found his second guardian angel, his new adopted mom. He speaks of love and belonging and how he has found his place in the world.

Next at the podium is an attractive and confident teenage girl who tells us she is “dead scared” to be standing before us. She compliments her friend who just spoke for his beautiful words and takes a moment to catch her breath and get her bearings. Her poem is about her lonely journey. She lived through days when she did not know where she would sleep at night. Surrounded by fear and loneliness, she survived. She found her way to loving, supportive arms and can now dream of a future in a world where she belongs. As she walks to her seat, she is embraced by her adopted parents whose broad smiles shine on tear soaked faces.

It occurs to me, like the Polk County Courthouse, our society has a few scars. We are less than perfect, but if you stop for a moment and look, beauty is visible in nearly every corner. The folks who put on Adoption Saturday are doing a wonderful thing for these families. Our community is enriched by the parents and kids who find each other and become stronger through adoption. People like those at Elevate are making a difference every day by helping kids like the two poets above find their way.

Thursday is Thanksgiving and as I gather with my family, I will say a prayer of thanks for being able to live in a beautiful community where miracles like foster care and adoption are celebrated.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP ELEVATE, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AND FIND OUT ABOUT DONATING OR VOLUNTEERING.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.