828

She said proudly, "I will name it . . .828!"

"Name what?" I asked. (Hope names everything. Each and every stuffed animal she owns has a name and you best remember they are part of the family)

She said, "My new wheelchair!"

I was confused, "What does that mean?"

"A number." She said bluntly with her mind made up.

She had no further explanation and just about that time her stepdad came home and we introduced him to the newest addition, " Meet 828." 

He said, "As in Romans 8:28?" And Hope quickly agreed. 

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

I was remembering this conversation from 2 years ago . . .At the time we were publishing our book In That Secret Place. 

When Hope named her wheelchair It dawned on me ~ Romans 8:28 the first verse I ever memorized and held in my heart since a young girl was the very verse I had overlooked in writing our story. How could I have forgotten this verse in our story, it is our story! It was too late for a rewrite, we had a signed contract and were waiting for my last endorsement.

excerpt taken from a previous post, Special Prayer Answered:

     ~ Since the beginning of my work on this book, 15 years ago- I prayed to one day have Melody Green's endorsement. (she was the widow of Keith Green. A Christian musician, who had a huge impact on my life.) I contacted her once I signed the contract for the book. The return response was they do not give endorsements. I was discouraged for a couple minutes, then I believed God wanted to bless me. I contacted them again and I prayed believing He would change their hearts. We waited and prayed over the next 2 weeks. They did reconsidered and Melody wrote a beautiful endorsement!!

The endorsement included reference to Romans 8:28~

Melody's endorsement read, "Terri and Hope's amazing story of love, sacrifice and forgiveness is a testament to God's ability to work all things together for good. Hope was a miracle baby, and her vibrant heart is a tender proclamation of God's enduring love for us all." Melody Green, President of Last Days Ministries.

God brought our entire book together from cover to cover in His perfect time and then sealed it with a kiss Romans 8:28.

Trust and love God. No matter what things look like around us we can have confidence in His promise to work all things together for our good.