When our son was born, we began praying for his future wife. We asked that she be someone that loved God, loved our son and would be a lifelong partner he could walk with through life.
A month after our son, Caz, became engaged to Cecelia, the four of us had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land. We were often reminded how God changed the name of those that followed Him to something that had meaning beyond a simple identity. Because of this, many Hebrew words are more than just the letters woven together. They represent a moment in history.
For the few years leading up to our son’s marriage, my husband and I kept referring to Cecelia as “our answered prayer.” In Hebrew the word El means God, and the word Ana means answered. Thus, the name Eliana means: God answered my prayer. Though we may still call her Cecelia, she will forever be in our hearts our Eliana. (Picture is of the wedding gift to our new daughter. A Hebrew bracelet inscribed, “Eliana: God has answered my prayer.”).