"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for blessing us with this baby boy. Thank you for his tiny fingers and toes and his beautiful blue eyes. Guide him as he grows, let him come to know you at an early age. I know, God, that somewhere in this world right now is a precious little girl who will win Trevor's heart one day. I pray that you would protect her as she grows. Keep her safe from harm. Draw her to You and protect her heart....protect her heart...protect her heart..."
Protect her heart....
At the time, I was asking God to protect her heart from Jr. High boys or a high school crush. I was asking that God would shelter her heart from the worldly influences and draw her closer to Himself.
Protect her heart...
I had no idea the amount of protection her heart would need. The evils of this world are unspeakable; The profound selfishness is incomprehensible.
Protect her heart...
And yet....God is sovereign, He is faithful, He has a plan. Sometimes the full extent of His plan is not for us to know.
Protect her heart...
I find myself asking God, "why?"
Why?
When I prayed so fervently
Why?
When we worked so hard to protect our own children from such evil
Why did You allow it?!?
My heart wrestles with God. Questions cloud my mind. And, yet my faith is only strengthened because I know that God's perfect plan sometimes allows for pain.
But not without answers...
God protected her heart. He wrapped His hands so tightly around her heart that his finger prints are etched on every surface. She knows God, She loves God. You cannot know Ally and not see Jesus.
She is an answer to prayer....19 years of prayer.
And her heart?
Tender, yet strong
Fiercely in love with Jesus
God has given us the privilege to love another child, a child that we could not protect, a child that we could only pray for from a distance without knowing the circumstances, a child whose heart is precious to God, a child who needs to experience healing...
I feel the burden of this responsibility. I feel the deep need for unconditional love and acceptance. I feel an urgency to protect her from anymore pain.
I know that God created Trevor with Alyssa in mind, and, likewise, He created Alyssa with Trevor in mind. I watched this week as God joined these two in marriage. I watched as Trevor wept to see his bride walk down the aisle. I watched as Trevor vowed to love, honor and cherish. I watched God give Alyssa's heart to Trevor that day. And I watched Trevor make a covenant with God to take care of it as if it were his own.
My prayers continue for Alyssa and Trevor. I am continuing to pray for eight other future spouses, as well. My prayers haven't changed. " God, I pray that you would protect them as they grow. Keep them safe from harm. Draw them to You and.........
protect their hearts"