God's Plan from the Beginning
Most females dream of having a family from a very young age, they even pick out their children's names even before they have found their husband. Although I've always wanted a husband and children I was never one to pick out my kids names a head of time. Terry and I were married in 2004 after about 4 years of marriage (2008) with no kids in sight God gave me a name. I was in the habit of watching Joyce Meyer and Creflo Dollar (both Christian Evangelists) while getting ready for work.This one particular morning Joyce was preaching about our Destiny for our lives. Although I can not quote anything that she said I do remember getting very emotional because it spoke to my heart. Then after she went off and Creflo began to preach he spoke about God's Grace. By the time both Joyce and Creflo had finished their preaching I was broken and I wept.
It was as if God had spoken to me in an audible voice and said "You will have a child and that child will be named Destiny Grace". So obviously I believed the normal thing anyone else would think. That I would get pregnant, give birth to a girl and name her Destiny Grace.
Little did I know that God had a very different plan, one that I could never dream of imagining. You see God always has a plan for our lives and His plan is always better than what we could think of. But as humans living in flesh we assume that our lives will follow the expected path. But what's the fun in that, LOL!
Anyway, because of this revelation I went out and bought a charm necklace with the name Destiny Grace on it and hung it from my rearview mirror in my car as a daily reminder of the promise God had made to me. It was not easy because as time passed, pregnancy never happened for us and seeing that reminder everyday that once started as a joyous thing, over time became a painful reminder. It began to make me think that God had forgotten me or maybe I misinterpreted what He said. I started to doubt the word from the Lord that I would have a child named Destiny Grace.
Years passed and I left the necklace hanging up in my car. I didn't want to take it down because a part of me still believed but a part of me was too pained to acknowledge it so I learned to ignore it.
I'm going to skip over a lot and come back to details in later posts but Terry and I became certified Foster/Adoptive parents in January 2013. That same month my mom and I went on a cruise together, we boarded the Carnival Ship named "Destiny" on January 29, 2013. I did think the name of the ship was a perfect fit but didn't think any more about it.
Time passed and Ben came to our home as our first placement and we was unsure if he would stay with us or be sent back to his birth family. We literally lived one day at a time. It wasn't until August 2015 that we were informed that there was a really good possibility that we would be able to keep him. It was then that I finally got a peace from God that he would be our forever son.
One day while I was having a little quiet time with God I heard His voice again and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought back to the day that my mom and I boarded that ship named Destiny, that was the day Ben was born!!! That was a detail that God used to prove to me that He has always been in control even when I was begging and pleading for a child, God remembered me. It was that day that God revealed to me that it was never about getting pregnant and giving birth to a girl and naming her Destiny Grace....Ben is our Destiny and because of God's Grace we are his parents.
