I am one blessed woman! More has been uncovered about my family’s history than I ever dreamed possible. But, isn’t that like God to prove he can and does give beyond our wildest imaginations?
Tribe of Dan
Before Bob and I left on a trip for Israel, my dear birth cousin, Sharon, (an incredible genealogist) told me that our family originated with the Tribe of Dan. Surely, she told me this before but it didn’t register. It wasn’t time for me to awaken to new adoption discoveries.
So, while in Israel, guess what my focus was?
You guessed it–my family’s birth history.
Through an incredible series of events that would take a book, God made it clear to me that I have Jewish roots, coming from my grandmother’s side.
Putting the Pieces Together
I’ll just tell you one thing, okay? On the day our group was to enter Jerusalem, the streets and highways were so crowded that our tour guide, Tito, decided to take us to the grave site of President Ben Hurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel. While listening to him describe different Jewish names, he said that “green” is a common prefix. Because of all the history my cousin had given me, I knew that my grandmother’s maiden name was “Greenless.”
Like a child, I got so excited when putting these pieces of the puzzle together. Tito confirmed that it has to come from the grandmother’s side to be authentic.
So, I am Jewish! What a wonderful discovery for this adoptee’s human identity. This is only one of the many things God has shown me in the last couple of years.
I believe it SO exciting to be an adopted person!
Judith….thank you for your insightful response. Yes, I know I am so blessed to have this knowledge. The cousin I spoke about has been incredibly helpful. Without her, I wouldn’t know all that I do. She believes that our ancestors came from Israel in the dispersion, went up into eastern Europe and settled in Ireland. Bob and I are considering traveling to Ireland to try and find relatives. I know my birth mother did….and that in itself gets me curious about how she got the information. Anyway, thanks for sharing the journey with me, Judith. I will read your piece very soon. Sherrie
Sherrie, I am very excited to learn of your recent discovery. I think of ancestry recovery as the “third dimension” of the adoption search and reunion process. I have been doing similar research in Italy to build my own true pedigree. It is an arousing but tedious process. Every person on the planet today carries the same genetic signature as those who came before us and I find it very intriguing to see pictures of relatives living in foreign countries who look very similar to me. Each and every one of us owes a huge debt to our ancestors because they were survivors. They were either smarter, more cunning, more daring, more brutal, luckier or, perhaps, they simply instinctively ran and hid a cave during times of danger. Experiences necessary for survival of our species are passed on to subsequent generations through DNA and the unconscious instinct that results. I thought you might enjoy reading the following blog. Judith http://judithland.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/do-we-inherit-our-ancestors-memories-judith-land-adoption-detective/