Hannah’s story…

Throughout my teenage years and very early twenties, I struggled with an eating disorder and was entangled in a web of lies. My wounded eyes hindered me from seeing my true beauty and worth. While I tried to break free on my own many times, I wasn’t equipped to win the battle on my own strength.

When I was almost eighteen years old and away at college, my deep pain collided with the deep love of Jesus. He came to my rescue and in Him I found the strength to step out of the darkness and into the light.

The Road to Healing

While not an easy process, I reached out for help and began to heal. I relapsed along the way, but over time, I experienced the renewal of my mind as the lies were replaced with comforting truth (Romans 12:2). The more the lies peeled away, the more I could see my true beauty and worth that goes far beyond the reflection in the glass mirror.

Today, I walk in the light, trusting that God made me uniquely and with purpose. He’s created radiant beauty from some of my deepest pain and awakened my soul to sing the tune of freedom.

…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes… ~Isaiah 61:3

Life Today

In 2009, I married a man of courage who calls me his Beautiful Bride. He was in a terrible motorcycle accident in 2003, resulting in a traumatic brain injury and complete spinal cord injury. He inspires me and so many with his story of perseverance through trials. Our faith is our foundation, and we are rooted in the hope that one day God will wipe away every tear and suffering will be no more (Revelation 21:4).

In 2011, we were blessed with the gift of our first child who I carried in my belly for nine months. We praise God for working through the challenges and allowing us to experience the joy of parenthood. Our firstborn son, Micah Paul is an energetic, sweet, inquisitive, determined boy with an amazing mind. We pray he grows into a man who acts justly, loves mercy, and walks humbly with the Lord (Micah 6:8).

Beauty After a Long Wait

My husband and I always wanted more than one child. Even at the beginning of our marriage, we knew having children might be an obstacle for us because of my husband’s spinal cord injury. But when Micah came along after just two years of being married, we were hopeful that God would surely give us more.

As Micah started to get older, he asked why he didn’t have a sibling. We wanted that so dearly for him and for us too. And waiting can be so painful.

Though we briefly looked into fertility options, we ultimately weren’t comfortable pursuing those roads. We believed if God willed another pregnancy, it would happen the same way it did the first time.

And then in February of 2017, I saw two pink lines for the second time ever in my life. I knelt on the bathroom floor, praising God for His faithfulness, imagining it must have been what Hannah of the Bible felt when she found out she was pregnant with Samuel. Even though for me it was my second son, it was just as special.

On November 1, 2017, Jeremiah John made His entrance into this world and into my arms.

Watching my children interact as brothers and become buddies is one of the sweetest blessings, especially after a painful wait and the roads my husband and I have traveled both individually and together. And even with a six year age gap, they find ways to relate and play together. God’s timing may often not be our own, but it’s so much better than anything we could plan.

I’m learning that as we put our trust in God, He beautifully weaves all the strands of our lives together for good. He causes beauty to rise and He doesn’t waste a thing.