It’s funny because of all the things that are running through my mind about you today – the years of church programs, late night talks, extra-curricular activities, church camp, shopping, arguing, hugging, crying, and laughing – the one that stands out most clearly is my overwhelming desire to say, “Thank you!” 

I remember throughout many of our late-night talks hearing some variation of “when you become a mother….”  I figured it was just something that all moms said, just “because.”  And while I’ve been known to have a hard time admitting that you were right about something, I am finding them unbelievably true throughout my experiences thus far.  There really is no way to describe the sickeningly sweet combination of love, hope, anticipation and apprehension that is motherhood.

The hopes and dreams I hold for my kids are the same that you held for me.  The possibility that something could happen to one of them causes me physical pain.  The unspeakable need to keep Christ at the center of my life so that He might guide me to make the right decisions becomes more evident each and every day.

Becoming a mother myself, has taught me, more fully, what it means to be a daughter.  I can only pray that someday my own children will think of me with a fraction of the love, respect and admiration that fills my thoughts of you.  As you enter this new year, I hope it is filled with more blessings than your heart can hold!

I love you, Mom!  Happy Birthday!

Proverbs 31:28