Today's devotional was written by Heidi Farner, the illustrator of the book. She has so much life to give through her paintings and her words. Enjoy!

"You are wanted, loved, and will be dedicated to God's purposes every day of your life." 1 Samuel 1:27-28

The longing.

The hoping.

The waiting.

Month after month

Became year after year.

The longing - too hard to bear.

The hope – only disappointment.

The waiting – too long to endure.

The promises – yet to be fulfilled.

The rollercoaster ride of emotions – month after month.

Where do I turn?

I turn to You, Lord.

I cling to You.

I linger in Your presence and find hope renewed, faith restored.

"My God is faithful!" my battered heart cries.

This was the place,

This was the time,

This was the plan.

He was setting the stage for all praise and glory to be His.

What was impossible with man is possible with Him.

I was ready to be a mom at 26 but the Lord thought differently. He had a better way for my husband and I. Little did I realize, we were on the road to the miraculous.

Yes, the miraculous, for after seven years of desiring a child, countless tests and numerous surgeries, the doctors gave up hope for us to have a child. They used words like "unlikely" and "near impossible". But God did not!

In fact, He stepped in with such great mercy and compassion that I remember the moment vividly; like it just happened, even though its been eleven years ago. I was attending a large women's conference at Oral Robert's University. One time during worship, I had a vision of the Lord walking by me. I reached out and I grabbed onto His garment, crying out, "Lord please heal me!"

He turned to me and said, "Daughter your faith has made you well go in peace."

Only 2 months later, I became pregnant! God was and IS faithful! I can lift up my voice, as Hannah did in this Week 3 scripture, to say thank you for the child I prayed. And for me, it wasn't just ONE child He gave me. He entrusted us with THREE precious miracles: Wesley (10), Joshua (8) and Rachel (4)!

Lord, may we always wait patiently for Your timing. Let the dreams of our hearts be defined and purified with holy fire and come forth as pure gold!