29 March, 2014

Today's date has been a date that has marked our lives forever. Even though four years have now gone by, we still remember. We remember almost every detail of that day, but we also remember that God was there with us in a very special way during every moment. We thank God that these events did not pull us away from Him, but rather drew us closer to Him. We recognize that the only reason we continued forward was God's continuous powerful work in us. Had it only been our own strength, we probably would have walked away because the spiritual fight continued for weeks and even months. But thanks be to God that He gave us the victory in Christ and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

A big part of God's healing to us has come through the life of our second daughter, Rebekah Ann. When Areli was pregnant, we were praying about a name. One day, Areli woke up with this verse on her mind, "...Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death" (Genesis 24:67).

God has given us a lot of comfort and joy thought Rebekah. Watching her grow is a very special blessing from God. And to look at her using all the clothes, toys and stuff we bought for Esther is special too but sometimes it feels like something is missing. And that could be that we never got to see Esther wearing or using all of those things.

We are joyful and thankful that her grandfather, Dan Pope, has joined Esther in giving praise to our Savior, Jesus. Above all, He is the reason why we long for heaven.