Hannah

Hello! Today, I want to tell you about a banner.

It is the most beautiful, royal banner in the world. It stretches from the beginning of time to the end of the world. The person holding this banner is God, and on it are four letters: L-O-V-E, Love. Song of Solomon 2:4 says, “His banner over me is love.” Everything I do, think, or say happens under the protection of this great banner. In other words, the story of my life takes place under the banner of God’s great love.

So, here goes my story…

Long ago, God created the world and he thought me up. He decided to make me a cheerful, musical, dolphin-lover. Before I was ever born, God knew me (Psalm 139). He knew I’d love strawberries, Bach, music, dolphins and giggling with my friends.

When I was born, God was very excited. Doctors think babies can’t remember things, but I remember being in the hospital crib listening to God whispering, “Your mommy and daddy are coming soon!” Very soon, my parents came. Soon after that, God gave me two fun brothers: Noah and Josiah.

When I was four, an adoption judge declared that we would be the Cohen family forever. Our celebration cake had these words across the top: His Banner Over Me Is Love. Even when I was little, I knew I was sinful and needed Jesus. My parents taught me how to trust Jesus for my salvation. My Christian family has always been a piece of the banner of God’s love.

When I was still four, we moved to Philadelphia and God gave us two new family members: Sarah and Isaiah. Here, He’s given us loads of friends, a church home, many museums, and many great vacations.

We Cohens take vacationing very seriously. We love the Poconos, Lancaster, Sunset Beach, Maine, Niagara Falls, Colorado and Florida.

Four years ago, we even went to Disney World! It was great fun, but while we were there, I started getting tired. When we got home, I went to Children’s Hospital and learned that I have high blood pressure in my lungs. Doctors don’t have a cure. Only God can heal me. Remember, in Heaven we get brand new, perfect bodies.

That summer, Make-a-Wish sent me with my family back to Florida to swim with a dolphin—a dream come true! My dolphin’s name was Latoya, and she was eleven, just as I was. It was amazing to swim with such a beautiful animal. But the best part was that just when I was swimming in the water with Latoya, God lit up the banner. He sent an enormous sky-wide rainbow to bring us peace. Everyone stopped and gazed for a moment at God’s rainbow blessing. You see, His banner over me really is LOVE.

Now, that was four years ago. Since then, I’ve had to give up some things. I’ve taken a lot of medicine and spent a lot of time at Children’s Hospital. It’s mostly fun, though, because I’ve made so many friends there.

Two years ago, I was in the hospital for a long time and Mrs. Baggs came to visit me. I had just missed the Sparrows where you had breakfast and made frogs. Mrs. Baggs brought me a little stuffed frog. She explained that frog, F-R-O-G, stands for Fully Rely On God. I immediately named my frog “Froggy” and put him in my medication backpack to remind me that I do not rely on medication for strength, but I Fully Rely On God.

Two of my close friends have very serious cancer. I gave each of them a frog, reminding them to Fully Rely On God. Like me, they take their frogs to chemotherapy appointments, making sure to tell others the good news about God’s great love.

In three weeks, I’ll be heading to Chester with Maranatha Missions. I am so eager to tell the kids in Chester about how great it is to belong to God, to live under the banner of His love. I want them to know that they, too, can Fully Rely On God for peace. I want them to trust Jesus for salvation and join me in heaven someday.

I hope you, our little sister Sparrows, will be praying for us as we go. And I hope that you, my little sister Sparrows, will never forget that, in Christ Jesus, the story of your lives are happening under the banner of God’s great love, too.

YES, His Banner Over Us Is LOVE!!!!