“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17

In July 2014, a sweet and happy Angel was born into an ordinary Coptic Orthodox family. But the story begins several years before 2014. Shortly after getting married in 2005, God blessed us with our first Angel, Angelina. For nearly 5 years, we thought that we were going to have just 1 child, who had exceeded all of our expectations. Then, John and I decided that we were going to have a second child. We soon realized that it was not up to us to decide if, or when, we will have a child, but rather that it was up to God’s timing. For two years, we were unable to get pregnant. Around this time, Angelina was 7 years old and came to me and asked me why she didn’t have a brother or sister. I couldn’t give her an answer because I truly did not know why. All that I knew was that I have been praying to God for 2 years to bless us with another child and He had not answered my prayers yet. So, I told her to “pray to God and ask Him to give you a brother or a sister.” Approximately 2 years later, everything changed. 

For those that don’t know, I love Saint Pope Kyrillos VI and I always felt a special connection with him. I have read about most of his miracles. Around the beginning of November 2013, I began praying to Saint Pope Kyrillos VI to be my intercessor in front of God and bless me with another child. By the third week of November I found out that I was pregnant. I thanked God for answering Saint Pope Kyrillos VI’s prayers and I told Saint Pope Kyrillos VI “this is your child.”

Around the end of January, I received the results of the prenatal genetic testing (for women over 35) and we were blessed to know that there were no concerns whatsoever and as a bonus, we learned the child’s gender. It’s a girl! I texted John and we were both so happy and excited. I suggested the name Sophia, because I love the name and when I searched the meaning of it, I found out it means “wisdom.” John and Angelina loved the name. When it came to her middle name, John chose Justina, because it’s the patron saint of our Church and that’s where we were planning to baptize her. And that’s how Sophia Justina came to our world. 

Lessons Learned:

• Every Child Created By God Is A Miracle
• Patience Is A Virtue
• Trust God’s Timing