Answered Prayer

Last year at this time I had just found out I was pregnant with Amelia. What a wonderful year we have had! After my miscarriage in October 2007, Cliff and I were scared to be too excited too early about the pregnancy. We spent a lot of time praying for peace from God. I won't lie and say we weren't super worried for most of the first trimester, but we did finally get a feeling of peace that our precious baby would be ok.

It's been fun to look back at when I first started blogging and re-living all the excitement of my pregnancy. I was so blessed to have a perfect pregnancy. I have so many friends who had trouble getting pregnant, and difficult pregnancies, but everything went so smoothly for me. I was even thankful for my morning sickness! (Still having trouble giving thanks for those stretch marks, though- let's just be honest)

The photo above is of a print that hangs in Amelia's nursery. I spent a lot of time reading the Bible after my miscarriage and I always loved reading Hannah's story in 1 Samuel. She was the only one of her friends who didn't have children. People in those days considered it a reflection on the character of the woman if she wasn't able to bare a child, and she was even tortured by another woman for her infertility. Hannah's heartfelt prayer for a child and subsequent thanksgiving for being blessed with Samuel is a must-read for anyone who has gone through the difficulty of infertility or miscarriage. Actually, it's a must-read for any parent. The verse on our canvas is a popular one for baby items and is displayed in a lot of nurseries, but I wonder if everyone really knows the story of Hannah and why she was so thankful for her child.

I chose this verse for her room because I never want to forget that Amelia is an answered prayer, and I want her to know that she is a blessing from God. Next Sunday we will publicly display our gratitude for our sweet baby girl at her dedication service at church. I look forward to sharing lots of photos with you.

As I write, I am holding my fussy girl in my lap. We all took a long nap this afternoon and she doesn't want to go to bed tonight. No matter how hard it is to be a parent sometimes, I will always be thankful that I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted what I asked of Him.