Why I named you Willow.

Dear Willow Grace,

A few have asked me why we named you what we did. Honestly, we were just driving home from church one Sunday, and the name popped into my head. I said it out loud, and your dad exclaimed - "That's the one!" However, as I went home and began to ponder what the name actually means, I asked God to give it a deeper meaning than just a "pretty tree". This is what God showed me. 

Willow means: "Graceful"
Grace means: "Gift of God"

The season of my life, in which I was given the privilege of growing you was one of growth in grace as well! God opened my eyes up to the thankfulness that I can possess if I focus on His perfect gift of grace in my life. Before I had you I was a very ungrateful person, and quite honestly I will daily have to guard my heart against this sin till I reach glory. It is a sin, because dear daughter, if you realize how much you have been given, and if you understand that you came into this world naked, helpless, and wallowing in blood, you will understand that God will always deserve all the praise! There is nothing that you have that has not been given to you.

These two phrases stood out to me: "Standing in Grace" "Grow in Grace".
My hope for you daughter, is that you would one day realize who it is that has drawn you up from the pit, and set you on a rock. God is ultimately the One whom you must dig deep into and plant your roots by, so that you will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and therefore your leaves do not wither."

Grace changed my life!