Where do I begin thanking and acknowledging people for all the birthday wishes? Thanks to Facebook it is impossible. I could just give everyone a blanket…THANKS, but you know that is not my style, so let me do it this way.
First, to all my fellow IIN students….thank you and I am so glad God has added you to my life.
As for all the acknowledgments from my high school buddies (and some as far back as Cherokee Elementary) we are beyond blessed to still be in each other’s lives. You are one of the reason I love Facebook! Just think about it, we have known each other for over 50 years! Unbelievable! We have watched the way of life go through so many changes together (we still had the best music at the greatest era in time). Thank you for being my friends and in my life.
Then there is this HUGE extended family of cousins! Yes, I came from a really big family with more relatives than I can count and I am sooo glad I did! You guys ROCK!
To add to those numbers, I heard from a great number of my spiritual family! God has knitted my heart together with many amazing people. I have had the pleasure to build life-long relationships with 3 different parts of the body of Christ and all 3 welcomed me with opened arms. And even when life removed me and dropped me somewhere else…you kept loving and receiving me. Like I said, I am blessed!
And then, there are those amazing women I call Daughters! Who would have known that after everything I demanded of you, you would choose to remain in my life. And not just remain, you wound your way around my heart and made yourself an extension of my very being. I love you! You will never know how much you have helped to shape and mold my confidence and hope in people. Thank you for being a part of my life.
And finally, my immediate family…nieces, nephews, sisters, children, grandchildren and husband; you have given me the strength to become the woman I am. You remind me every day why I would not change a thing. Without you, I would not be me! This independent, stubborn woman is so thankful she is interdependent on you! To say I love you is not enough! You are the love within me! You are the gift of life God gave me! For me, you are the ultimate expression of Christ’s love for me….I feel His love for me every time I think of my love for you. Thank you and thank God for you!