Kristal Kelly’s Story
February 16, 2021
In March 2020, Kristal Kelly, one of the consultants at LifePlan Niles, wrote a letter that would change her life.
Kristal was adopted as part of a closed adoption in Indiana in 1974. Her records were sealed and the only information her adoptive parents had was that she was born in South Bend, Indiana. In September 2018, the state of Indiana opened a number of adoption files, making it possible for Kristal to request a copy of her original birth certificate and adoption records.
“I always had that desire to find out where I came from and what my past was, but I always knew in my heart that when the time was right the Lord would open that door for me – He would show me,” explains Kristal, “I got the paperwork back in November 2019 – my original birth certificate which had my birth mom’s name and age.”
When Kristal looked at the birth certificate she began to cry. Her birth mom had been 16 years old when Kristal was born.
“When you’re a kid and you know you’re adopted, your mind plays all these scenarios of what could have happened and you just never know what the real circumstances are,” explains Kristal, “and then you grow up and you’re 45 years old and you find out your birth mom was 16. I cried. I really was overwhelmed.”
Shortly after receiving the birth certificate in the mail, Kristal was contacted by a woman from an adoption group on Facebook who told her she could help her find her birth mom. Kristal responded to her and forty-five minutes later, she had an address.
“I had to put the phone down and walk away,” Kristal says, “It was like I waited my whole life for this piece to my puzzle but then, when I got it, I didn’t know where it fit. I didn’t know where to place it.”
Eventually Kristal wrote the letter.
It took Kristal a month to finish and mail that letter. After all, how do you write a letter to someone who’s your mother but also a complete stranger? Kristal eventually mailed the letter, prayed, and waited. Then, in the middle of the COVID lockdown, Kristal received a response – a text message from a half-sister Kristal didn’t even know she had. “I was supposed to be meeting with virtual clients at LifePlan that night but I had to call and have someone else take over because I couldn’t,” recalls Kristal, “And it kinda went from there. I found out that I have 2 half-sisters and a brother and a lot of aunts and uncles and cousins.”
A few months later, Kristal met her birth mom in person. Her story was all too familiar.
“She had left at 16,” Kristal explains, “She had walked out of an abusive home, pregnant and in really bad circumstances. I eventually told her I worked at LifePlan and that I’ve met quite a few teen moms, moms just like her. I told her, ‘What you did was hard and brave, but I’ve seen your story before. I’ve seen what you’ve gone through many times.’”
Kristal feels blessed by the opportunity God has given her to see this portion of her life come full circle. “God sent me to LifePlan 12 years ago and had me working with teen moms and women who have been in this situation only to find out that my own birth mom was a teen mom,” says Kristal, “I still sometimes sit back and go, “Wow, Lord, Your goodness is running after me!”
Watch the video above to see Kristal share her story in an interview and to hear her thoughts on adoption as well as her story of how she came to serve at LifePlan.
Are you interested in serving at LifePlan? Find out how you can volunteer HERE.