If being an adopted child taught country music start Rodney Atkins anything, it was that the person you are comes from the people who raised you. His adoptive parents' bravery and love made him a person who, in spite of his success, remains grounded in the important things in life and focused, above all, on his family.

In his efforts to give back what he's been given, Atkins recently became the spokesperson for the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) (www.adoptioncouncil.org). As spokesperson, Atkins says he would like to see more emphasis on the financial end of promoting adoption and toward finding adoptive families, not foster families – in other words, permanent homes and not just temporary residences.

"You can get a bad heart or health or good health from your genetics, but what shapes you into the person you are comes from your family," Atkins says. "Having a sense of family is what made me what I am today, and I could not have had that grounding if my parents had not made the commitment to make me their child."

In Atkins' case, it took a special couple to make that commitment. Given up for adoption at birth, Atkins was a sickly infant living at the Holston Methodist Home for Children in Greenville, Tenn. He was initially adopted twice, but both sets of prospective parents returned him to the home, unable to cope with the needs of a seriously ill baby. Then along came Allan and Margaret Atkins, a couple who had been through a parent's worst nightmare and responded not with despair, but with love.

"My parents had a baby boy six months before I was born and he only lived a few days," Atkins says. "After he passed they applied to adopt a baby. Six months after that, the Holston Home called and said they had a baby. That baby was me."

The amazing twist to the story is this: When the home first called, Margaret Atkins had just had surgery and was too weak to care for a new baby. Rodney Atkins said it tore her up inside to have to say no and she wondered every day what happened to the baby she'd had to turn down. Six months after that, recovered from her surgery, Margaret Atkins contacted the Holston Home again, saying she was ready. The home informed her that the baby they'd called her about before, Rodney, was back. Margaret didn't hesitate a minute. Rodney was already her baby.

As it turns out, baby Rodney had some kind of respiratory infection that, while it got worse before it got better, did finally clear up. But he doesn't hold it against the people who returned him.

"Having a new baby is tough enough without the challenge of dealing with a sick one," Atkins says. "Can you imagine not only the shock of having a new baby, but one who's hacking and crying and you don't know if it will live or die? That would be very difficult for anyone."

That his parents were brave enough to tackle that challenge, Atkins says, just shows that he ended up where he was meant to be all along.

Atkins overcame his ailments and grew into a happy, healthy boy with a typical boy's interest in sports. He also loved music, so much so that he began performing in high school, playing the guitar and singing at any venue that would have him – even if his expenses outstripped his income. After high school he pursued a more traditional path, majoring in psychology at Tennessee Tech, but he never gave up on his music. He began visiting Nashville as often as possible, getting more performing experience as well as writing his own songs.

While trying to make it in music, Atkins supported himself by doing odd jobs, and it was through one of these gigs that he met his wife, Tammy Jo. They dated for five years and have been married for 10. She stuck by him through all the ups and downs of trying to make it in the tough business of country music and it eventually paid off – Curb records signed him to his first record deal in 1997.

His first song, "In a Heartbeat," made it to the charts, but his wasn't an overnight success story. It wasn't until 2002 that Atkins charted again, with the songs "Sing Along" and "My Old Man." His first big hit came the following year with the song "Honesty (Write Me a List)," which went to No. 4 and was featured on his first album, Honesty. After that, there were more lean years until he finally hit it big with the No. 1 single, "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)." The subsequent album hit platinum record status and produced two additional No. 1 songs.

While all that was going on, Atkins was also trying to be a hands-on father to his two daughters from his wife's first marriage, Lindsay and Morgan, and to his own son, Elijah, born in 2001. Atkins regularly credits his wife for supporting him as he struggled to establish a movie career. Not an unusual thing for a man to do, but Atkins also credits his home for helping him to cross the line from a singer to a star.

When asked about his legendary home studio, Atkins just laughs at the image that conjures up. "Calling it a studio is a stretch," he says. "I have a room my wife lets me use. When I started in this business I had no idea how committed you had to be to the work to get to this level, but it can get really complicated when you have a family. Somewhere along the line it hit me that I needed to be able to balance my career and my family better. Being able to do the vocals here at home allows me to do that."

It was the sense of relaxation and fulfillment, the easing of the stress of being away and pulled in two directions that Atkins says gave his best-selling album that special power that took it to the top. He could work and still watch his son and be an integral part of the family and home.

"When I'm an artist I try to be the best at that job that I can be, but even when I'm an artist I'm still a dad," Atkins says. "I wanted to be that dad in a very present way. I wanted to be the one there to pick up my son and comfort him if he scraped his knee."

Atkins also says his family and his vision of what kind of role model he wants to be for his son colors his choice of songs as well.

"If I'm going to be on the road and away from my family I'm going to sing worthwhile songs, and I want to sing songs that people can come and listen to as a family," Atkins says. "I know my listeners feel the same toward their family and what they want them to be exposed to and part of, as I do, and I want to be able to give them an experience that is positive and uplifting."