Today marks the 4th anniversary of the day God placed Hannah in my heart. As I was having my morning prayer time on January 11, 2005, God spoke a silent whisper into my heart and this year that whisper will become my daughter!!'I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him (her) to the Lord. For his (her) whole life he (she) will be given over to the Lord.'
I Samuel 1: 27, 28 (NIV)
I have prayed a smiliar prayer this often this weekend. Even though I do not have Hannah's referral yet, I believe she is born and I have given her back to God. She is a gift from Him and I pray that she will grow to be the girl and woman God wants her to be.
The beginning of my faith walk can be found here in the very first blog entry I wrote. The second major step and God's answer to the prayers of many can be found here.
God is good and as always I know that His timing is perfect!! Still trusting. Still loving and the coolest thing......I have not lost a single night's sleep over the wait since that night in October of 2005 when His peace washed over me and He gave me His blessing to move forward with Hannah's adoption! Sure, there have been times that I have cried out to God as the wait has continued. My heart has hurt and ached and I've cried a river of tears as I've longed for my baby to be home and yet through it all...PEACE. A peace only God can provide when He dries my tears of longing and reassures me that in His perfect time, Hannah will be placed in my arms.
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 4: 6, 7 (The Message)
Dear friends, God is good! Writing this post has reminded me of His faithfulness and reading the posts from the past had me in tears more than once this evening. God is faithful yesterday, today and tomorrow!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!
Girlfriend,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post..I cant wait to see your prayers answered
4 years... seems so long, and at times I'm sure it has been. But at others, the time seems to have flew by. Your attitude and faith have served you well and soon you will know your daughter, not only in your heart, but in your arms.
ReplyDeleteJules
Hugs to you and I am so happy to share this walk with you.
ReplyDeleteKeep smilin!
Wonderful! It will be so soon.
ReplyDeleteGod IS faithful!!! So thankful!!
ReplyDeleteGod has used you as a blessing in this whole plan of His as well!! You've blessed so many others during your wait for Hannah! I'm one of them! Thank you!!
Bless you as you continue to wait for HIS timing to be PERFECT! :)
LOVE you!!
Ok, so now you have me in tears! Beautiful post. You have been such a source of encouragement to me and so many others throughout this entire adoption process. You and Hannah will be so blessed to be together. CAN'T WAIT!!!
ReplyDeleteLove ya.
k
Your faith is an example to us all.
ReplyDeleteFour years... wow, that is an incredible amount of time, yet you have the most wonderful attitude and faith. I know this is only a tiny thing, but maybe one reason for this long journey was to put your support system and friends all in place. Just think about all the people you have met along the way that will be in your life and Hannah's life now. Pretty incredible.
ReplyDeleteBig hugs, my friend,
MM
You are such an amazing person! You have such wonderful strength and faith. I cannot wait for all your prayers to be answered!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there have been parts of this journey, that although have been desperately hard, have invited you to meet Jesus in ways you never had before. He is showing Himself faithful and with each passing day your love for Hannah is growing and preparing you to be her mom. When God has both of you completely ready, you'll get that call. Can't wait to celebrate with you.
ReplyDeleteThe journey has been long, but the blessings will be great.
The fullness of time will come,
Joy
Your faith is, always, inspiring, Catherine!
ReplyDeleteThe dream that God placed in your heart, 4 years ago - will soon be a reality!
Keep the faith, Sista!
I love your faith, Catherine! And I love the verses that you shared in this post.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for you to receive your referral soon.
:-)
Sending you warm and fuzzy thoughts :-) and GREAT BIG hugs as you wait! Hannah knows you're waiting too. Your day is coming!
ReplyDeleteGod is so Fatihful... Your getting so close. I can't wait to celebrate God's faithful promise with you when you bring home sweet Hannah. What a wonderful gift adoption is. Hannah will truly will bring so much joy to your heart!!
ReplyDeleteCatherine we started this process in October 2005 also and I understand completely about the "Peace" that God gives , it can only come from him because I know my flesh is not capable of the peace I have found through this wait.
ReplyDeleteThis was a beautiful post.
Love, Kristy
Not much longer and your walk of faith will include running after Hannah.
ReplyDeleteWonderful days ahead!
What a beautiful post and tribute to your dream that is about to come to fruition! I love the bible verse you chose too - just what I needed to hear today.
ReplyDeleteSheryl