We were married six long years before we became parents, and
during those childless years, I yearned for a baby so desperately I
ached. One of my favorite songs during that time was sung by Bar-
bra Streisand. It was called “Jenny Rebecca, Four Days Old.” The
lyric described a mother welcoming her little daughter to the world
and it pictured all the wonderful things they’d be doing together:
playing on swings and tree climbing and wishing on stars. How I
longed for a little girl with whom I could share those kinds of things.
Of course my heart’s desire changed the minute I held our first
son. My dreams of pink frilly rooms vanished and my life was taken
up with trucks and trains and bugs in a jar. Curt was the joy of our
lives.
But after the wedding of our second son, Andy, God opened that
big family album for me and allowed me to look over his shoulder
at a tender and amazing answer to a long-ago prayer. As Jenni and
Andy were signing their marriage license, I noticed for the first time
that my daughter-in-law’s full name was Jenni Rebecca, the title of
the song I had sung so wistfully. Why hadn’t I made that connection
before?
“Jenni,” I said, “I’ve never noticed your full name before. It’s beau-
tiful!”
“Oh,” she said, laughing, “Mama named me after a song.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. Here was the prayer our Father had al-
ways planned to answer. Here was the daughter our Father had
planned to bring into our family to bless our son and nurture our
grandchildren. She had been in the family album under the
Cloninger name all along!
101 MOST POWERFUL PRAYERS IN THE BI BLE 65