Finding God in the Search for Home

What happens when a malnourished toddler abandoned on a Costa Rican mountain grows up with an unshakeable desire to return home? For Ana Katia, an international speaker, coach, devoted mother, and author of "Fourteen Days," this question would define decades of her life and ultimately lead to one of the most profound spiritual discoveries imaginable.

Ana Katia's credentials as a speaker and advocate for adoption reform give weight to her extraordinary story, but it's her personal journey that offers the most compelling insights into faith, identity, and divine purpose. Born in the rainforest mountains of Costa Rica to a mentally ill mother who struggled with alcoholism, Ana and her siblings were repeatedly abandoned for months at a time in a tin shack with only a stream for water and occasional food drops from a concerned neighbor. Social workers found them in severe malnutrition when rescued at just one and a half years old.

Adopted by an American family at age three and raised as a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ana spent her childhood and teenage years consumed with an inexplicable longing to return to Costa Rica. What began as birthday wishes to "fly home" eventually led to a miraculous 14-day journey that would teach her profound truths about divine timing, worth, and identity. Her story reveals that sometimes our greatest earthly desires are actually pathways to discovering our divine nature.

The Foundation of Faith Amidst Trauma  

Ana's early years in America were marked by an interesting contradiction. Despite having no conscious memory of her traumatic beginnings, she experienced recurring nightmares about not being able to find her home and deep questions about identity. Her loving adoptive family provided birthday parties, neighborhood friends, and all the comforts of American life, yet she felt caught between two worlds.

Her faith developed remarkably during this uncertain period. Around age eight, coinciding with her baptism, Ana experienced a heightened spiritual awareness. Despite her young age, she felt unmistakable confirmation that Jesus Christ was real and the gospel was true. This spiritual foundation became crucial for her future journey.

Years later, Ana discovered why she couldn't remember her early trauma. In her baby book, she found a priesthood blessing from her adoptive father stating she would "forget everything from this time forth." This divine mercy protected her from memories that could have changed her life's course, showing how God intervenes in ways we don't immediately recognize.

The Unquenchable Desire for Home  

As Ana grew older, her longing for Costa Rica intensified. Beginning around age eight, her birthday wishes consistently centered on wanting to "fly home" to Costa Rica. This desire didn't stem from dissatisfaction with her American life, which she loved, but from a deep sense that part of her identity remained in her birth country.

The logical challenges seemed impossible. She had only two names - her birth mother's and a woman from the orphanage. She had failed Spanish in junior high, earning a D that left her devastated. Finding one person among millions in a foreign country with such limited information appeared hopeless.

Yet Ana continued praying about this desire throughout high school, learning about miracles and divine will. She understood she was asking God for a miracle, which led to deeper questions about how miracles work. When she reached senior year with no apparent answer, she surrendered completely, telling God the decision was in His hands.

Divine Timing and Miraculous Intervention  

Ana's prayers were answered through an unexpected encounter. After moving out and establishing a work routine, she met a man outside her apartment complex who changed everything. This chance meeting revealed he was also an adopted Costa Rican who had served a mission there and found his own birth mother.

When he offered to help Ana search during his planned return trip, she experienced profound recognition that this was her miracle. Yet she found herself almost paralyzed by the reality of answered prayer. The experience taught her about the difference between wanting something and being ready to receive it.

The 14-day journey was marked by miraculous events. Lawyers initially refused help but then changed their minds and provided crucial records. They discovered detailed documentation with the exact location where Ana had lived. Most remarkably, with only hours left, they met a farmer who had just seen her birth mother and could direct them to her location.

The Cucumber and the Revelation of Worth  

The reunion proved both challenging and transformative. Ana's birth mother, still struggling with mental illness, refused typical connections - no hugs, no photographs. These rejections felt like fresh abandonment, triggering anger and resentment Ana hadn't realized she carried.

The turning point came through an unexpected gift - a simple cucumber. Initially, Ana struggled to understand the significance of such a modest offering, especially given her American perspective on meaningful gifts. Her confusion revealed the depth of her expectations and the cultural gap between her current life and her birth mother's reality.

Through spiritual revelation, Ana understood that the cucumber represented everything her birth mother had to give - her complete offering from genuine love despite limitations. More importantly, this became divine teaching about Ana's own worth. She realized her journey wasn't about finding her birth mother, but discovering her divine nature and worth as God's daughter.

Key insights from Ana's experience include:

• Divine protection often comes through forgetting trauma that could derail our purpose

• Our deepest longings sometimes point toward spiritual truths rather than earthly solutions

• Miracles require both faith and surrender to divine timing

• True worth comes from divine identity, not earthly circumstances

• Simple acts of love carry profound spiritual significance

Embracing Your Divine Identity and Purpose  

Ana's journey offers profound lessons for anyone struggling with questions of identity, worth, or purpose. Her story demonstrates that our deepest spiritual growth often comes through experiences that initially seem about external circumstances but ultimately reveal internal truths about our divine nature.

The most significant lesson is that seeking answers to our deepest questions often leads us to discover unexpected truths about our relationship with God. Ana's years of longing were really years of unconsciously seeking to understand her divine worth and identity as a daughter of heavenly parents.

As you reflect on your own spiritual journey, consider how God might be using your earthly longings to draw you closer to eternal truths. Trust in divine timing, remain open to unexpected miracles, and remember that your worth comes from your divine identity, not your circumstances. Like Ana, you may discover that what you thought you were searching for was leading you to something far more valuable.

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