Heart Sick For Answers

It was during a preschool conference that my daughter blurted out to her teacher that she was going to have a baby sister. My cheeks flushed as her teacher glanced in my direction, her eyes searching mine, asking the question without saying the words.

Caught off guard by my daughter’s sudden declaration, I felt the need to bring truth to the situation. No, I was not expecting a baby, and I had no plans in that regard. We both smiled awkwardly, moving on to the letters my daughter had memorized by sight and sound.

It began months prior as a prayer. My five-year-old would whisper it during prayer time, a solid reality in her mind. It was one she was convinced was going to come to pass.

She had all the child-like faith that was needed, and began to pick out names for this baby sister. There was more, too. Games my daughter intended to play once the baby arrived were also planned.

The declarations of this reality didn’t stop at just telling her teacher. She would tell extended family members and cashiers in the checkout line. She also told an old friend I hadn’t seen in a while when we bumped into her at the store.

Even though I have no plans for providing her with a baby sister, I have never asked her to stop praying for this. As my daughter longs for an addition to family so strongly, I do believe God will grant her desire in whatever way He sees fit, and in His timing.

How this will happen is yet unknown. Perhaps it be through a child born from my body, or an adopted baby sister. Maybe through a sister-in-law to whom my daughter is really close, or a friend that feels like a sister. God's ways are higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:8), and He has ways of answering prayers which I could never have dreamed.

We are currently in the season of Advent, and Christmas is one week away. In this week leading up to the birth of Christ, it is a time for looking forward to His eventual second coming. The origin of the word “advent” is from the Latin word “adventus” which means “coming” or “arrival.”