Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

grow up to love the Lord and one day tell people about His
miracles." She paused. "And what did you pray, Mrs. Bronzan?"
"That God would make his home a safe one... that his mother would love him all ... all the days of her
life." She brushed her face against Matt's. "That he would know the touch of a father's hand and the peace
of Christ's salvation."
There was silence for a moment, and Hannah knew they were
both soaking in the impossibility of what had happened. The
social worker broke the silence first. "Does this mean you're inter260
H A L F W A Y T O F 0 R E V E R
d?" Her tone was light and happy, and clearly she was sure of
nah's answer before it was spoken.
Hannah locked eyes with Matt and remembered what he'd
L~1d d her four days ago over dinner. Whatever child God blessed em with would be fine. She smiled
through her tears and spoke
er answer clearly "Yes, Mrs. Parsons. We're interested. How soon
can you bring him home?"
They worked out the details, and at the end of the conversation Mrs. Parsons told Hannah the baby's name.
When Hannah hung up, she was at a loss for words. Matt searched her face and chuckled, his eyes
brimming with tears. "Why do I have the feeling our life just changed?"
"Remember how I said we had to hurry? Because we needed to meet a baby?"
Matt nodded and wove his fingers between hers.
"Well, we do. But not jade and Tanner's baby." She kissed him, pulling back only enough to study his eyes.
"Our baby, Matt. The little boy I prayed for, remember?"
"The one whose mother died..."
"Yes." She struggled to find her voice. "He's ours, Matt. And get this... his name is Kody Matthew." She
uttered a single laugh and ran her fingers through her hair. "Can you believe it? I feel like I'm dreaming,
but it's true! Mrs. Parsons is bringing him home this afternoon. I prayed that he'd have a safe home, that
he'd know his mother's love and his father's touch-and the whole time I was praying for-" Her breath
caught on a sob.
Matt wrapped her into a hug and held her close. "You were praying for us."
In the hallways of Hannah's heart, she could still hear Grace's little-girl laughter, the laughter of a child
they would never know again, a child they would miss forever. But in that moment, she knew again the
truths she learned four years ago. Nighttime might
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be long and dark, but eventually morning would come, because that was God's way His mercies were
new every morning.
Just when it seemed like the darkness would last forever,
morning would come. Hannah and Matt were living proof of that.
In the end, even the bleakest night would always pass away
Just like God said it would.
annah and Matt had less than eight hours to prepare a nursery.
But before they could do anything, they needed to go
to the hospital. Jenny had called immediately after Mrs. Parsons to say that jade and Madison were both
doing well. Hannah kept the phone call short and exchanged a knowing glance with Matt. This was not the
time to tell her about her new brother.
They arrived at the hospital half an hour later and found Jenny and Ty in the waiting room watching
television. Jenny grinned at them. "Nice of you guys to show up."