Apparently, the whole world is glad that 2016 is over- everywhere you look there's a meme, blog, or status about how terrible this year has been. Some enterprising souls even turned 2016 into a fairly clever horror movie trailer.
Based on social media, it seems like everyone will be counting down to the New Year with unusual gusto this evening. And honestly, I'm no different. 2016 was an incredibly difficult year for us as a family. We learned a lot, grew a lot, and cried a lot. It's been exhausting.
If you're wondering what was going on in 2016 for us, you can read about some of it here. Suffice it to say, this year was a challenge.
October especially was a month of transition. On October 21st, the two foster children who had been part of our family for the last year and a half left our home to be reunited with their biological parents. While we were glad for their family's gain, we grieved for our family's loss. To us, these were not someone else's children that we had simply been babysitting. We had fully embraced them as our own- knowing that they would most likely leave us eventually. Losing them has been the most confusing and painful event of my life.
Almost exactly a week after our foster children left us, our daughter was born. We had anticipated her for so long, and our excitement over her arrival mixed with the grief of our loss.
I think the general consensus from others is that our daughter's birth somehow made the loss of our foster children easier. I don't really understand that logic. The cries of a newborn can't replace the temper tantrums of a two year old. The gentle coos and smiles of a baby can't replace the laughter of a three year old. Joy for the arrival of one child can't erase the loss of another.
But, there is something her birth can do. It can serve as a reminder that God is faithful. Faithful to walk beside us in our grief, faithful to bring us through it, faithful to provide new joy in our new journey.
That's why I love our daughter's name so much. Eliana Dawn.
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| Eliana Dawn |
Eliana (el-e-ah-na) is a Hebrew name that means "My God has Answered". Dawn (obviously) means the dawn of a new day. Put them together and you have "My God has Answered with the Dawn".
Throughout the time we had our foster children, we knew we would lose them. And throughout that time, we prayed for courage to love them fully anyway. We prayed for strength to have them in our family and then let them go. We prayed for hope in the midst of pain.
And God answered those prayers in an unexpected way- with the addition of another child. Eliana is our reminder that life continues no matter what losses happen. She is our reminder that God's mercies are new every morning, and His faithfulness is great. She is our reminder that God answers the prayers of His people; that He gives hope.
Eliana is our reminder that "Weeping may remain for the night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)
I don't know what journey you're on, or what pain you're hoping to escape. I can't promise that you'll avoid pain. It's more than likely that you won't. What I can promise is that God will meet you in your pain and bring you through it. He'll send you reminders that He is faithful. That He is for you. That He is with you.
Your reminder may not be as tangible or dramatic as a new baby. It may be a Bible verse that just keeps popping up. It may be a friend who refuses to leave you alone in your grief. It may be a family (or church family) that surrounds you with support. It may just be a still, small, voice in the quietness of your own soul. But whatever it is, look for it and embrace it.
Because God is with you in your pain. He wants you to know that this is not the end- it's just the beginning of something different than you expected.
Because:
And your God will answer with the dawn.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
