Intro: Our Long Road To You

My sweet Magdeline Joy,

Your nickname, “Mighty Maggie,” was given to you shortly after you were born. Hundreds of people prayed for you and praised God for the strength we saw in your tiny body as you fought to live. But your story didn’t start there. You are the product of prayers—prayers whispered long before we knew we could have you, and prayers spoken in awe after we found out we were expecting.

Our season of infertility taught me to wait with hope and to bring my pain, longing, frustration, and disappointment straight to God. It showed me that suppressing sadness also suppresses joy. It’s okay to feel all the things. Through you, God taught me that faithfulness sometimes looks like falling faithless into His arms—letting Him pour out His faith into a barren heart and a barren womb. I also learned that He wasn’t ashamed of me or disappointed in my struggle. He simply loved me. He longed for me to come to Him. He was in it with us. He was for us.

Your birthday came as a surprise, surrounded by trauma and worry. But even more importantly, it was surrounded by the prayers of so many precious people—some of whom you may never know this side of Heaven. Those dear souls prayed you into the world. We may not understand why our journey to you looked so different than we imagined, but we know it has been marked by hope from the very beginning. We can’t wait to see what God has planned for your life.

He’s placed it on my heart to record your story and to spend time in His Word and in the stories of strong women of faith—women who, though imperfect, were used in mighty ways for the Kingdom. I want to draw from their lives as I pray for you and guide you.

Little girl, you were born into a global pandemic and a time marked by injustice, fear, and conflict. I don’t know what the world will look like as you grow—but I have so much hope for you.

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
— Psalm 126:3

I love you dearly,
Mom