Thinking of Benaiah's First Mother

Tomorrow is Benaiah Meteku's first birthday, and today has been a lot more difficult for me than I ever imagined.

I decided that I wanted to buy a special candle holder so that we can burn and candle and pray for Benaiah's birth mother on his birthday.

I am sad that she had to make the decision to give up her baby boy, Meteku. She carried him for 9 months and named him. "Meteku" means "replacement," and the name is used like we would use "Junior." He probably resembled someone in his family -his father? his grandfather? -his uncle? We think that his birth mother nurtured him for the fist few months of his life.

My heart is just aching for her right now. I can't imagine my life without him.