Happy Birthday to my Firstborn Daughter !

My daughter.  My friend.  My sister-in-Christ.  I never knew life would change so much.  I never knew one could love so deeply.  I felt your movements, I anticipated your arrival.  But I didn't know.  I couldn't know.  How very life changing motherhood would be.  How mothering would be like learning to "live with your heart outside your body".

Nine months of being changed.  Nine months to ponder.  To dream.  To imagine. To pray. Before I ever laid eyes on your tiny face or watched you breathe deeply your first breath, I was being changed.  Forever. Awareness of being given a great trust and the privilege of influencing a tiny eternal little soul can do that to a girl. There was a revival of my faith.  How, I wondered, can a mother pass on eternal truths, wisdom, compassion, mercy and hope if she doesn't sit at the feet of the Author of those truths?  Often.  What else does she have to *stand* on. Where else can she go for answers? Man's ideas change with the wind, but God is Truth and He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He used your coming to remind me of those things. I desperately wanted to know my God and Savior better.  I wanted that for me.  I wanted that for this little person I was yet to meet.

I remember the first hours after your birth and how I tried to soak it all in.  Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Now out of my womb and placed in my arms. Heartstrings tied tight. Overwhelming love.  Your father and I marveled at tiny toes, wisps of black hair and beautiful little eyes staring back at us.  The hour grew late but sleep wouldn't come.  We wanted to savor every moment. And we did.

Years have passed and you've grown and become a lovely woman. A very forgiving and gracious woman.  You know me.  You know my weaknesses. Yet you love me. Deeply. And the Lord continues to use you in my life.  Such a blessing to our family and others.  And as your brother said of you last evening, the most loyal person he's ever met. 

I can't adequately express to you how very grateful I am for your birth and your life.  And I've never seen a man any more affected by the birth of a child and children than was your father.  A man who married later in life than some and who'd begun to think he might never have the privilege of becoming a dad. I know you know how very much he loved you and how very thankful he was to the Lord for all He'd done in his life. And that definitely included the gift of children.

I thank you for the delightful day we spent together this week as we celebrated your birth.  The time savoring every sip of coffee, the beauty of the little shop, and the fun we had in carefully choosing marked down and edible surprises to take back to those at home. :)  The time we spent together in the Goodwill Stores and enjoying the beauty of the drive and of just being together.

I thank you for taking great pleasure in the simple things in life.  For showing gratefulness to a little sister who gifted you with a stray cat for your birthday.  A gift she knew you'd be thrilled to receive.  Thank you for the time you take to pour into her and into the lives of your other brothers and sisters.

Happy birthday sweet Tiffiny!

  My birthday prayer for you is that Jesus, the Bread of Life, will continue to bless you and nourish you spiritually as you look to Him in everything, pray, and read His word. You are a blessing, and you are loved much...........

Mother