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Late Life Adoption
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Retirement is supposed to be the time to relax, to do things for yourself. But many seniors are finding time on the golf course just isn’t enough. Allysa Adams introduces us to one special couple who believe God called them out of retirement and back into parenthood. |
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SCRIPT:
LOCATOR: Phoenix, Ariz.
It was Yana’s eyes that first got to George Wheeler.
George Wheeler / Adoptive father: “There was no spark in the eyes.”
George spotted Yana during a rotary trip to deliver supplies to a Russian orphanage.
George Wheeler: “When I got home, I couldn’t get her out of my mind.”
Willi Wheeler / Adoptive mother: “The first time we met her, he said, ‘I’ve fallen in love.’”
That love took the Wheelers on a yearlong odyssey of soul searching. After all, they already had grown children and grandchildren. In counseling, their United Methodist minister asked them a simple question.
The Rev. Jerry DeGrow / Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church: “What do you want to do with the rest of your life? All of us search for God’s will. Trying to find it is sometimes tough. Once you know that you’re not like Jonah running away, you run towards something instead of away from it.”
So the Wheelers embraced this 8-year-old girl, and suddenly seemingly insurmountable obstacles kept falling away. Willi calls them God’s thumbprints.
Willi Wheeler: “Areas where you can actually see God working.”
They had to move out of their retirement community and start a new home with all the trials and joys of parenting.
It hasn’t been easy tackling things like spelling and swimming lessons in their 60s. But it’s Yana’s eyes that tell George he’s doing God’s will.
George Wheeler: “This is a gift. She’s a gift.”
TAG:
The Wheelers understand that they won’t live forever, but they say having Yana makes them even more vigilant about their health.