The name Hanna came to me in a dream. All I remember is that I was walking along the beach with a little girl and heard myself saying, "Come along Hanna."
At the time, I didn't know her to be my child.
But Hanna did. (What you seek is seeking you.)
In April, I was finishing off the lyrics to a song I wrote nine years ago when my mom passed away. I could only remember part of the song, but wanted to finish it and sing it on the anniversary of her passing. I scoured my journals from the past decade hoping to find the lost lyrics. Nothing.
Then a friend said to me, "Maybe you are not supposed to find the lyrics. Maybe it's time to write a new ending to the song."
(He's a wise friend...)
That weekend, I was traveling from Calgary to Saskatoon and I stopped at a gas station in small town Alberta. As I stood in line to pay, I was captivated by three girls and their mother. Brimming with imagination, these girls were sharing with their mother that when stars twinkle, it is God winking at them. How precious.
There are certain conversations that we are just meant to overhear. This was one of them... because in that moment, the ending to my song came to me. It was an ending that looks out into the future. You know, set your sights on the horizon and then let the wind blow you home.
Here's the lyrics to my song. I love this song as it travels the complete circle of life. It begins with my childhood and ends with that of my daughter's.
By the way, the little town I stopped in for gas was Hanna, Alberta.
So imagine how amazed I was when the birthmom selected this name out of the handful I gave her. "I absolutely love this name, " she said.
Hanna had found her home.
Additional Meaning
Hanna also has family roots. It combines the "H" from my mother's name (Helen) with the names of my husband's grandmothers (Anne and Ann).
Hanna is Hebrew for "grace of God". In biblical times, the mother of the prophet Samuel asked God to bless her with a child, and her prayer was answered. Hence, the name literally means "God has graced me with a child."
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