her name

We have chosen the name Hope for our baby girl. I loved this name before we started the adoption process, and always had it in mind, just never had the chance to use it! I cling to what it stands for, not just in this adoption, but in my life. Knowing Jesus means hope is something we always have, it is like a life line, because when everything else is gone, hope is still there. Even if our life here on earth seems as bad as it can possibly get, we can wake up each morning knowing that we still have our life in heaven and our relationship with Jesus. I have not yet walked, "through the valley of the shadow of death," and I would never want to make light of the horrible situations that people are going through, people who know Jesus, but I can believe the promises we have in His word and choose to focus on those.
There have been a couple of times so far during this process, where I have needed to be encouraged, and the Lord used this name/word to encourage me. The first time was right at the very beginning. The paperwork seemed overwhelming and like we were having a hard time even getting started. I was cleaning out my desk, something I never do, and found some old pictures from a calendar I had saved from years earlier. One in particular I thought would be so cute in a little girl's room if we ever had one. It was a Mary Englebreit picture and the quote was "Hope springs eternal." Tears welled up in my eyes because that was exactly what my heart needed. Another time, I was cleaning out one of my purses, (I am sensing a theme here!), and found a bookmark I had made at one time that simply said Hope. And another time I was having my quiet time when I ran across this verse from Psalm 61:5, "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him." In each of these instances it was like God spoke right to my innermost heart, reminding me of His love and sovereignty, when I really needed that reminder. I know the road ahead of us will be hard and long, and I will need many more of these reminders, but how precious it is to know that He will be there every time to remind me. Hope. Lord willing this will be our daughter's name, as well as the focus of my life.