Happy 30th Birthday Kevin!

Today is Kevin’s birthday, not just any birthday. It is Kevin’s 30th birthday but more importantly his first birthday as a daddy. Saturday, Anna had her ½ birthday. 6 months, wow! Today we celebrate Kevin’s life. He has blessed my life for many years but these past 6 months have been some of the sweetest moments with my husband as we have cried, laughed, struggled, celebrated many firsts, had long days and nights as well as watched the days fly by. But above all we have experienced love in new ways. I have watched as Kevin has demonstrated 1 Corinthians 1:13:4-7 day in and day out.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Although we long for many things for our precious daughter, Anna our greatest hope is that she would come to know Jesus as her Savior, that one day she would call him Father. As I have watched Kevin selflessly love on Anna I can see how easy it will be for us to explain God’s love for her because of the example she has in her earthly father.

We often sing praise songs with Anna. She loves to have her quiet time where she is in our arms dancing or sitting rocking. She nestles her head right on your shoulder where her ear is right there to hear the words we have to say to her. One song that often plays on the iPod is Bebo Norman’s, “A Page has Turned.” This was a song that was sung at our wedding. Here are just some of the words….

A page is turned in this world to reveal a little girl

With a heart that's bigger, as it is unfurled

By the language in her soul, that's teaching her to grow

With a careful cover of love that will not fail
And the God of second chance

Picked her up and He let her dance

Through a world that isn't kind

And all this time, preparing her the one

To hold her up when she comes undone

Beneath the storm, beneath the sun

And grown up tall, here you are Your day has come

It is sweet music to my ears to hear Kevin’s voice singing to Anna these words. I am so thankful that we have a God of second chance. Each time I listen to the words I envision Anna at different stages of her life dancing through life but more importantly I see Jesus by her side. People often come to know Jesus through the relationships they have with others. Often a relationship with a believer ultimately leads someone to a relationship with Jesus that changes their life forever. Young Life is a perfect example of this. We develop relationships with high school kids. We love them to Jesus by spending time with them and winning the right to be heard.

Often in Anna’s life it will be Kevin who will be picking her up and who will be by her side as she dances her way through a life that is not kind. I am so thankful that is the case. He has already won her over. She trusts him implicitly, which is evident in the way she is calmed in his arms, the smile that is brought to her face when she hears his voice over the phone and the way her face lights up when he walks in the room. Anna is our little princess. Her daddy often tells her this but just being told you are a princess doesn’t make you a princess. However, her daddy treats her like a princess and hopefully one day because of the way her daddy loves her (and her mommy) she will decide to be a child of God’s, a princess that has a heart that’s bigger, as it is unfurled and a language in her soul that can only be Jesus. We pray the ending words of the song for Anna as she watches our lives. We pray that there is no secret to the source of this much life. May she know Jesus is the giver of abundant life and may she know that the grace that falls like rain will wash her over and over.

Kevin, I am so thankful Anna and I are dancing through life with you! Thank you for the grace and love you show us. We love you!

Happy 30th Birthday! (It must be a special one, if it is worthy of my first post!)