30 Years

I feel I am one of the most fortunate people out there. I know that’s a pretty lofty thing to say, but that’s how I feel when I think of the type of people I have had for these 23 – almost 24 – years of my life as parents. My parents are not by any means perfect people, but to me they are the best I could have ever asked for – and I didn’t even have to! God gave them to me, and my brother, and we continue to reap the benefits of being raised by such godly people as we go from day to day in our own lives.

I want to be like them. I want to be kind and understanding like they are. I want to be firm in my beliefs, I want to devote my time to God. I don’t know how many times I have called my mom and asked what she was up to and she’d reply, “Just reading my Bible.” Or how many times I have gone back to Georgia to find God’s word open on the bedside, or on the desk, or on the table, having recently been read. My dad fills notebooks with his studies, and his dedication to knowing God’s word shows in his life, as well as in my mother’s.

I want to be like them because I was always surrounded by God’s word when I grew up, and I want to surround my children with God’s word as they grow as well. I love that they have the example that my parents have set.

As of today, my parents have been married 30 years. That’s 30 years of ups and downs, of joys and tears. I have learned through their example what a godly marriage looks like, that no matter what comes our way, when God is first in our life, we can make it through. They have always displayed care, love, and deep respect for each other in every season of their life together, even when hardships came, always putting the other above themselves.

I wish that everyone had parents like mine, but I sure am thankful to God that He gave them to me.
To my dad, who always knows what to say to me and when to say it… who can bring a smile through my tears with a well-timed text message… who has always taught me that love should be my driving force in everything that I do {I will never forget this!}…

To my mom, who has become one of my very best friends… who has shown me how to be a godly wife and a godly mother by her example throughout my life… who always has time to talk when I need it, and the right words to say when they’re needed {how you understand me through hysterical tears, I will never know, but I appreciate you!}…

I love you both. I am so thankful for you and I could never tell you enough how much you mean to me, how much you mean to Carl, and how much you mean to Benjamin.

I pray for MANY more years to be able to say “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!” to such godly parents!

You guys are the best!
Happy Anniversary!