Happy Birthday, Beautiful
[NOTE: When we made A Legacy of Faith to where I only release articles on Wednesdays, the “odds” of me posting on Leah’s birthday dropped dramatically. So forgive me for this personal post. However, I believe it fits with what our site is, because it celebrates the home and a marriage that is a blessing. –Adam]
Leah,
It was on your birthday, let’s just say a few years ago, that you gave me the gift. Oh, I bought something, and it was expensive, but you were the giver. On your birthday, when you said, “Yes” to my marriage proposal, I was the recipient of a blessing that continues, without fail, to this day. So, for your birthday this year, I want to say “thank you” for that gift.
You are the absolute definition of “Christian lady,” and you live out both of those words constantly. Your faith–though you have struggles at times as we all do–is unquestioned by anyone who knows you. The way you treat people–whether they are treating you well or not–is always with grace. As you often say, you just want things to be “right.” Leah, you do all you can to make that the case. It’s amazing to see.
You chose home. In a world where women around you celebrate career advancement and share on Facebook what all they can buy and do because of their incomes, you chose home. You are a homemaker and homeschooling mom by choice. Every day is not perfect (okay, not many are!), but the dividends of your sacrificial and selfless choice will only be known in eternity. You may not win awards or get to post on social media about all the amazing things you’re doing at work or with the extra money, but three lives are better and are more faithful to the Lord than they otherwise would be because of your choice. And many others are blessed by how you spend time working on Bible school, helping our young ladies at Central, and so much more that few will ever see because you do not seek the attention for all the good you do.
To watch you struggle with trying to make each day better, only to see a day go by where there’s another tiff during homeschool or another teenager who is, well, acting like a teenager is hard. But what you don’t see is you are making a difference. It may not show today or tomorrow or even in the coming days. But I firmly believe that, when our kids are thinking of the kind of home they want to have one day, they will remember a mother who put faith and spiritual growth above everything else, and they’ll desire that kind of home.
You deserve more than I could ever give you because you make the life we have a blessing each day. Those eyes that first glanced at me in Gano Dining Hall nearly 25 years ago still can melt my heart in a fraction of a second. That smile still lights up a room and makes my heart sing. That not-quite-as-Southern-as-it-used-to-be drawl is still the sweetest voice in the world.
But the heart of the one who said “yes” on her birthday all those years ago is what is the true blessing. That evening, you gave me the gift, and I’ve been blessed on your birthday–and every other day–since. Maybe it’s not enough, but “thank you.”
Happy birthday, Beautiful.
Adam
