In this heartfelt episode of Sit on That Stump in Muddy Bottom, host Vicki Parker welcomes Terri Rawson to share her deeply personal adoption story and the journey that led her to choose an open adoption for her daughter.

Vicki begins by reflecting on the meaning behind the show's title: the “muddy bottom” represents those difficult seasons of life when circumstances become messy, fear feels louder than faith, and the future looks nothing like we expected. Yet, even in those places, God is present. Sometimes we simply need to “sit on that stump,” get alone with Jesus, quiet the noise, and listen for His voice.

Terri shares what it was like to become pregnant at 17 and initially plan to parent her daughter. Her daughter was born prematurely at 31 weeks and spent more than a month in the NICU. After bringing her baby home, Terri and the baby's father began reconsidering what would be best for their daughter. What started as something Terri believed she could never do eventually became a courageous decision to create a different future for her child.

The conversation explores the emotional reality of adoption, including grief, fear, uncertainty, healing, and the importance of viewing adoption as a parenting plan rather than “giving a baby away.” Terri explains how she initially wanted a closed adoption but ultimately chose an open arrangement, allowing her daughter to grow up knowing both her adoptive family and her birth family.

Terri describes the remarkable relationship that developed with her daughter's adoptive parents. Over the years, the families have shared birthdays, soccer games, FaceTime calls, sleepovers, family gatherings, and other milestones. Her daughter has also developed relationships with Terri's husband and children, creating an extended family built around love rather than fear.

Vicki and Terri discuss how open adoption can help address some of the unanswered questions that birth parents and adopted children may otherwise carry for years. Terri's daughter knows where she came from, knows that she is loved, and has a safe environment in which to ask difficult questions and express complicated emotions.

The episode also draws powerful parallels between Terri's experience and the biblical story of Moses and his mother, who trusted God with her child's future. Vicki discusses the story of Solomon and the two women claiming the same child as an illustration of sacrificial maternal love—the willingness to put a child's wellbeing above one's own desires.

Throughout the conversation, Vicki and Terri emphasize that adoption does not mean a birth mother feels no pain. Grief can remain part of the journey, and healing may take time. Terri openly shares that she struggled with the decision and feared that she would never be loved or move beyond the pain. Ultimately, she describes how encountering Jesus, learning to live under grace, and forgiving herself transformed her perspective.

The episode offers encouragement to women facing an unplanned pregnancy, birth mothers considering adoption, adoptive parents, grandparents, church communities, and anyone seeking to understand the realities of adoption. Above all, Terri's story is a testimony about trusting God one day, one minute, and sometimes one muddy bottom at a time.

Vicki closes with a reminder that no matter how deep the mud gets, God has not lost sight of you. Find your stump, sit down with Jesus, quiet the surrounding noise, listen for His voice, and trust Him with the rest of the story.