Bryan Kehl's big family and the blessings of adoption

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28)

In the predawn hours of Saturday, June 16, 1984, a baby was born, wrapped in a white blanket and purposely kept from the young woman on the hospital bed. The infant male with bits of black hair was fed a bottle by his grandmother before he received a priesthood blessing at the hands of his grandfather. As the women looked on, the grandfather gently kissed the little one's forehead and handed him to the nurse.

Then he was gone.

More than 25 years later on a night in early December, the mother, Amy Smith, was preparing her five children for bed when the phone rang. An old friend delivered news that landed like a bombshell. The child Smith had given up for adoption in 1984 had found his biological father and was interested in meeting her. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine this day would come. Now the Smiths had a major decision to make.

Initially, revisiting the past caused some anxiety and awkward feelings. But fear eventually evaporated into hugs, joyful tears and expressions of love.

As he celebrates his 27th birthday today, Bryan Kehl, the adopted baby, says reconnecting with his vast biological family has been a glimpse of heaven. The incredible experience illustrates that given time, the Lord can extract the most good out of some unfortunate circumstances.

"Nobody owns anybody, we are all brothers and sisters, and we are down here (on earth) to help each other struggle through the difficulties of life. When you have that perspective, it really changes you," said Kehl, an NFL linebacker for the St. Louis Rams. "This could be what it's like whenever we die and go to the other side. We will be introduced to family members and ancestors we have never known."

* * * 

"We glory in tribulation also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience." (Romans 5:3)

In the early 1980s, Amy Evans (Smith) was a student and Aggiette at Utah State. She was dating an Aggie football player named Maurice Turner when she discovered she was pregnant. Initially, she assumed they would get married. Turner loved her but didn't think marriage was the solution.