To My Daughter on Her 8th Birthday

Dear Precious Treasure,

Eight years ago, God showed Himself to us in a way that only He could orchestrate. It was very early in the morning, but your mommy and me were wide awake, because you were about to make us parents. And remember, just a few weeks earlier, we had thought that might never happen.

Our amazing God, however, had different plans, and brought you into our world through the glorious process of adoption. I do not know if you will ever adopt a child, but I do know that unless you do, you will never know the feeling we had–and continue to have–for how our Lord brought you into our lives.

From very early on, I nicknamed you “Precious Treasure,” because I firmly believe that is exactly what you are. Sometimes, we shorten it to “Precious,” but I pray you always remember that daddy calls you by both, and believes that you are a treasure, truly valuable and rare. You are the only Mary Carol Faughn in this world, and that makes you wonderful.

Today, you turn 8 years old. Pardon your mother and me if we get a little nostalgic and weepy-eyed on your birthdays. It’s not easy to see another year tick away when it seems like you were just learning to crawl a few months ago. Sometimes, when I hug you, I can almost still hear you say “I mimiched” (I’m finished) as you down another bottle in my arms. You haven’t said that in years, but those sweet words from your smiling face ring in my mind quite often.

Now, here you are at 8. You are a good speller and very smart. We are grateful that you are remembering Bible facts and learning how to read.

More than any of that, though, we are proud of the wonderfully sweet qualities that you have always possessed. You serve others, young or old. You want people to be happy, and will do nearly anything to help people. Your hugs brighten days, and your full-faced smile lightens every room you enter. Your heart could not be any more tender.

Precious, these are qualities your mother and I pray never leave you. As you continue to grow, my prayer is that you continue to follow the example of your mother. God blessed you with a glorious example of what a real Christian lady should be. No matter what grades you might make or how wealthy you might be one day, there is nothing that could make me more proud than to say that you became a Christian and lived every day like a lady.

I know I have told you before, but I could never say it enough: I am proud to be your daddy, and no words can express the gratitude your mother and I have to God for bringing you to us 8 years ago. You may have grown in someone else’s tummy, but you had our heart from the first sonogram. From you holding my finger with your tiny hands as a baby, now you hold my hand on our daddy-dates. I know that, one day, you’ll hold someone else’s hand, and that’s okay, so long as you are always holding the hand of Jesus.

I love you.

Happy birthday, Mary Carol.

Daddy