How God sometimes answers prayers in the most unexpected way

At Omar and Savannah's Rehearsal Dinner, I took the opportunity to share a personal story with Savannah and our close family and friends about the way God answered a prayer of mine that started about 22 years ago.

In 2003 we lived at the back of a neighborhood called Stone Lake in Tomball. We started planning for our 3rd child but as each month passed, I grew more and more irritated with God. He wasn’t answering my prayers like I planned. 

During that time I went on a retreat and at that retreat we did an activity of picking a stone that had a word engraved. 

I chose the stone with the word “Hope” engraved on it because I had hope that God would answer our prayers and give us another child. I thought that if he gives us a girl, I may use Hope in her name.

Finally, after a couple years go by, we found out we were pregnant. But in September 2005 during the threat of Hurricane Rita, we lost that baby. It was devastating. It was not just the loss of a child but the loss of my dream for my family. 

However, the Lord in his kindness eventually led us to adoption. When we found out we were chosen to be the parents of a tiny baby girl, we had to decide on her name. A few years had passed since we first started the process and we had a few ideas for girl names. I loved the names Macy, Rachel, Savannah. Our adoption agency asked that we keep one name given by the birth parents. We had both agreed on giving our daughter the name Rachel by this time and planned to call her by that name. But when I learned that her birth mother had given her the name Savannah I felt like it was a wink from God, and we named our daughter Savannah Rachel. 

After we adopted our Savannah, we added 4 more children to our family, including Omar. And nine years later, God brought a young lady into Omar’s life who is now becoming his wife. 

This young lady was born in 2005, the same year we lost our child. When she started dating our son, we found out she lived about 100 yards from our old house in Stone Lake where I had prayed and prayed for a child. And her name? Savannah Hope. Her parents chose “Hope” as her middle name at the time I had a shiny little stone displayed on my desk, reminding me of the hope I had for my family. Now she will become my daughter-in-law. So I want to give this stone to you, Savannah, as a reminder that sometimes the Lord has a way of answering our prayers in the most unexpected way.