Winter 2009 | Volume 67, No. 2

As Miraculous as Childbirth

by Benjamin Hawkins

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It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and for Southwestern alumnus Bart Barber one photograph captures the essence of life. It is a photo of Bart sitting in the children’s wing of First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, where he serves as pastor. He is ready to preach, prepared with suit and tie and with a microphone around his ear. Nestled in his arms is his daughter, Sarah.

“That’s my little girl in my arms,” he says. “She was sad that day when I walked by the nursery, so I stopped in to console her and we had a brief rock. I was singing an old hymn to Sarah while she burrowed up into my chest.” For Barber, this photo reveals the priorities of life: God, family, ministry, church.

God began to bring together a family for Bart and his wife, Tracy, in 2003, during Bart’s last semester of Ph.D. seminars at Southwestern. Their first-born son, Jim, came into their lives through a slough of last-minute trials.

Jim, now five years old, was not the first baby they had tried to adopt. The door had been closed on earlier attempts. On one occasion, the birth mother decided to keep the baby only an hour before the adoption would have been irreversible.

So it is understandable that Bart and Tracy were fearful when they returned home after a weekend away to find five phone messages from Dr. Shirolyn Moffett, the physician who delivered Jim at the hospital. Providentially, Moffett had not moved onto other prospect families but waited for the Barbers’ return phone call to report that an adoptable baby boy was on the way, if they were willing to take him into their home.

They were thrilled, but in the rush of preparations over the following two days, they did not hear reports of the massive ice storm that would make it difficult for them to get to their soon-to-be baby boy in Arkansas.

As freezing rain and sleet came down—making roads impassable and grounding planes—Bart and Tracy could only come up with one solution to their predicament: Joe Nerwich, a close friend, member of their church, and pilot who owned a plane that could take them through the storm. Of course, they met difficulties even then, and received news of Jim’s birth while sitting in a hangar, waiting for the airplane to thaw enough to take flight.

Despite their difficulties, Nerwich and the Barbers took flight that morning and arrived at the hospital that evening. They rushed to the room where they knew the baby and birth mother were.

When they arrived, however, the room was empty, and their fears might have arisen had not three nurses walked up behind them, introducing them to their newborn baby. The nurses led them to a room where they could have some time alone.

“Tracy unwrapped Jim and we got our first look at his tiny hands and feet,” Bart recalls. “She sat and rocked him for an hour before conceding to let anyone else (including his Dad) enjoy the privilege.”

On March 11, 2003, the Barber’s finalized the adoption in an Arkansas courthouse. “After we adopted Jim,” Bart says, “we immersed ourselves into all the joys of parenthood. Our chubby, bald, effervescent little boy certainly filled our house, our family, and our church with energy and happiness. We felt like we had hit the ‘adoption jackpot’ by being blessed with this wonderful son, especially after having been through the difficulties of adoptions-gone-bust.”

When Jim was nearly three years old, the Barbers once again entered into the adoption process. While they did not have to overcome natural obstacles this time, they again had to experience the “thrill-ride experience” of finding a child to adopt, which led them to several dead ends. Speaking with a friend in the summer of 2006, Bart commented on the difficulty and discouragement that comes with the process.

“But when we get discouraged,” he added, “we always remember what happened with Jim. We had no indication that Jim existed until we got that telephone call from Dr. Moffett, and then four days later, we had a baby. So at those moments when we’re feeling down, we just remind ourselves how powerful God is.”

A week later, Bart and Tracy received news of a mother who was looking for someone to adopt a baby girl she would soon deliver. Four hours later, Sarah was part of the Barber family.

“God is the maker of families,” Bart says. Adoption is just as miraculous as childbirth, especially given the waiting, the closed doors and the unexpected difficulties that can arise in the process. Bart and Tracy firmly believe that God intended for them to raise Jim and Sarah, so that He might fulfill His purposes in their lives.

Bart and Tracy created a family Web site, www.bartandtracy.com, to encourage others interested in adoption.

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