Every day that we awaken with inhaling the breath of life in a new day is worth celebrating. That breath (every breath) is a gift worthy of celebrating. Now when that breath comes on the day of one’s birth … it’s time for a party.
Today our family gets to celebrate our first born daughter, for today is her birthday.
As I think of who she was as a baby, a toddler, a child and who she is today, there are so many similarities. So, baby girl, let’s walk down memory lane …
As a very young child, you were always looking to see if we were looking at you, watching your actions and antics. You cared then and you care now how others see you. Perhaps this comes from that first born, people-pleasing personality. Perhaps it is an innate human need to hear someone say, “well done.”
From a very young age, you were a defender of the marginalized, from your preschool days of sticking up for a kid being excluded by others in a restaurant play area to working with street intrenched youth and women with addictions. You are one who cares for the “least of these.”
I remember the day I changed the curtains in your bedroom, when you were at preschool (you knew this story was coming). You were not happy, not comfortable with this change of decor. Appreciation of consistency, of ritual is part of who you have always been. This unique trait helps you in your work to train teen to be leaders … consistent leaders who do not change with the season, but who hold fast to foundational habits that grow integrity, trust and responsibility. You are like “a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”
Here’s the thing, baby girl … don’t forget that your value isn’t in perfection, or what you do for others, or consistency …
your value is who you are,
because you are
a real, living soul …
dreamed and created
in and by the God of your soul.
There is nothing to do, no one to do for, and no expectation of following a prescribed method that will increase or improve your value. You are and always have been a child of God.
“You are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do, or what you have done, but simply because you are.” Max Lucado
Happy birthday, baby girl, we love you so very much and pray that this is the beginning of a great new year for you.
“For the Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty
gives me life.”
Job 33:4
itsawonderfilledlife 