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| If you return to the Main Page, we hope that you will sign our guestbook. We hope to share the encouragement and kind words with Maria someday. |
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| Waiting for GOD for Maria |
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| 5/14/2006 Happy Mother's Day!
We read this verse this morning in our Bible Fellowship (formerly called Sunday School)...how fitting it was... 1 Samuel 1:27 " I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him." To the birthmother of Maria Elizabeth, I cannot go through a Mother's Day from this year forward without thinking about you or praying for you. I don't know you, don't really know anything about you. But I do know that for some reason, our lives will be forever intertwined. My husband and I have been very blessed with two beautiful children. Deep in my heart, I still felt a prayer, but I could not quite put my finger on what that prayer was. We felt complete, but not COMPLETELY complete, if that makes any sense. Until last summer. The day I saw Maria Elizabeth's face and felt a stirring in my heart. I understood the prayer. That Maria would become our daughter. I hadn't known it all of these years, but God had. And once I felt that stirring in my heart, I understood. I have often pondered who you are. When we visited Guatemala a few months ago, I found myself searching each face wondering if that could be the person who has given us Maria. I don't really know your circumstances. I know as a Mom how heartbreaking it must have been to leave your child. And that I will never fully understand what your life must have been like to make such a sacrificial decision. I do not judge you nor condemn you...Instead, I will always feel grateful for the part you have played in bringing Maria into this world and into our family. I promise you, from one mother to another mother, that we will love and cherish Maria Elizabeth with all of our hearts. She is our daughter and will be treated with the respect, love, and honor we feel for our other children. We will dedicate her to God, much like Hannah did in the above verses. And we will guide her, pray for her, and encourage her to become the woman God intends her to be. And we will always share with her the gratitude and honor we feel for having the opportunities to be her parents. Thank you for giving us that. In Christ's love, Reba |
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| 5/15/2006
Psalm 130: 5 "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope." We got an update today! Yippee! We have officially entered PGN. You can see Maria's newest picture (one of them) at the bottom of the page. She is starting to look more and more like a little girl rather than a baby. :( We are glad she is growing and developing though. Just wish she were here to do it with us. One of my favorite things about today's report was about her personality... Please tell the family that she has changed a lot she is SO friendly now, she loves helping her friends she loves singing, she is such a happy girl!! (she was VERY shy before, but not anymore) That just made our day to hear how happy she is. We hope that bringing her home won't change that too much, though I know it will be an adjustment for her. I want to thank my mother-in-law Melissa for sending me a special passage about Hannah for Mother's Day, which is ironically what our Bible Fellowship lesson was on too. One of the important points of the passage is that once Hannah gave everything over to God (which resulted in baby Samuel), her prayers turned to God. They were focused on Him, not the baby. And most importantly, she had learned to wait for GOD, NOT a baby or a husband, etc. I don't think I am going to go so far as to change the name of the website, since that is what I have always used. But what a powerful reminder that instead of waiting for Maria or PGN approval, I need to wait for the LORD. He will handle all of the other details for me. Remind me of that in a few months, okay? :) Thanks for waiting for the LORD with us. We would love to know who is reading...you can sign the guestbook by clicking on the words "Main Page" at the bottom of this page. :) hint, hint |