A Letter to Our Daughter~Live to Die with No Regrets

Behold, children are a gift of Yahweh.

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 127:3

May 3, 2008

Dear Hana Kate,

Today is not the day we dedicated you to God. We did that a long before you were born. And yet dedicating you to God is also something we must do on a daily basis. Today represents a day that we can declare before our family that you belong to God—not to us. It is a day we ask for accountability from our family as we raise you to walk with God.

For the few short years that you are with us, we desire to point you toward the things of God. You were born as a sinner into a world full of sin. This world will try to tell you all is well and that you have no need for God. It will tell you that it has all you need to be happy. But God’s Word tells us otherwise. True joy can only be found in knowing Christ; this alone will bring eternal satisfaction.

In many ways, the significance of your name conveys our prayer and desire for you. As Hana, we pray that you will learn to give your deepest desires over to God, and yet not give up asking Him to answer. We also pray that wherever God leads us, Madagascar or elsewhere, He will use your life to attract others to the Gospel. As Katherine, we pray that you will one day be a godly wife and mother, as your great-grandmother was. If God chooses, we desire you to be faithful helpmeet to the man we even now pray for. As Hesed, we pray that you will daily see God’s rich mercies in your life and share them with those around you.

You also bear the name Threlfall. Through His mercy, God has given you a godly heritage. Someday, you might exchange this surname for another; but regardless, you will always represent our family. We pray that God will give you grace to show forth His glory through our family.

We are not worthy of the task of raising you. We see daily how increasingly incapable we are of being the parents we ought to be. We pray daily that God will save you at an early age, and that you will not depart from His commandments.

When our journey here is done, we trust that we will meet in Heaven with Jesus. You may enter glory first, or we may. Although the time of our home-going is uncertain, one thing is certain—life on earth is short. In the meantime, life on earth won’t be easy. Beware of those who will tell you otherwise. Live each day on purpose for His glory, and live to die with no regrets. We daily dedicate you to Jesus, so that in this life you may bring more glory to His wonderful name.

Love,

Daddy and Mommy