The summer of 2011 was one of drastic change for our
family. On Father’s Day, June 19,
our adopted son, Eli, was born, and we brought him home from the hospital two
days later- to our home in Duluth, located on ¼ of an acre in a cluster
community, within 5 miles of 4 different grocery stores. But just two weeks later, we moved to
Habersham County, into a small farmhouse on 7.6 acres off a quiet country road,
with the nearest grocery store almost 8 miles away. One month later, having transferred from Norcross High
School, I started my job at Gwinnett Online Campus, where I worked from home
most days, with a new baby, and my day was spent on the computer, with the
majority of the communication with my colleagues, students, and their parents through
email. Life had developed the
potential to be overwhelming and isolating.
My only connection to the community was Marva Griffith, who
owns the Jazzercise Center in Clarkesville, and I began teaching classes for
her. She and Lindsey Brackett told
me about a group called MOPS, Mothers of Preschoolers. My first thought was, “Eli’s not a
pre-schooler, he’s only two months old!”
A little research on the MOPS website dispelled that misconception. My next thoughts were, “What would I
have in common with these women?
I’m a first-time new mom, with an adopted son, at 38 years old. I’m not from here, and I’m a
work-from-home-mom, not a stay-at-home-mom. Plus, this is a Christian group and we don’t’ even go to
church.” Boy, was I wrong- about
all of it!
At the first meeting, I was assigned to Laura Garrett’s
table, and she warmly took me under her wing, making me feel welcome, asking
questions to get to know me, and introducing me to other moms. At our table, I was shocked to find out
that not only was I not the oldest mom there, but most of us were from places
other than Habersham, including California and Maine. Many of the moms work their own businesses from home, and I
even found a fellow online teacher in Kristi Redding. While I was the only adoptive mom in the group, I could
still laugh and share stories about being a new mom, plus learn from the “more
experienced” moms in the group. I
even had an opportunity last year to share our adoption story with the
group. And today, my husband and I
are being baptized as new members of Bethlehem Baptist
Church.
MOPS is a ministry for women with young children, but more
importantly than that, it’s a group that meets these women “where they are,”-
in their lives and in their walk with Christ- to help them be better moms,
better wives, and better Christians.
As the MOPS organization says, “Better Moms Make a Better World.” We seek to provide a safe community for
women where they can learn from each other, from our guest speakers, take some
time for themselves, and build strong, lasting relationships. For myself, MOPS has blessed me with
some wonderful friends, introduced me to the Bethlehem community, but has also
provided a path for me back to God.
(from a testimony shared by Amy Hayes with the congregation of Bethlehem Baptist Church on April 14, 2013)
