We didn’t see her coming, which, in many ways, made her arrival all the more precious. After years of loss and hopelessness and, finally, surrender, we were given the gift of experiencing the healthy pregnancy we had despaired of even asking.
At the end of many dark nights, at the end of my kicking God’s shins, at the end of myself, there was Birdie.
I measure time with her birth year as a compass because it was so pivotal in our lives. Two adoptions, one birth … how does that not rate as a milestone? God was good to us in 2010. He is good to us always. But that year? That year, our cup ran over.
And now she is four. Four years of her passion, her joy, her love that cannot be contained in mere words but must be sung, loudly, into the hearts of those who she claims as her own. And that love is fierce. Her Daddy. Her Momma. Her brothers, her baby dolls. Her Gracie. Hers.
Because once this little girl is part of your life, you are changed. You walk a little lighter, your smile a little brighter. She is a ray of contagious joy, and that is just part of God’s great, awesome gifting to her and to us.
Happy birthday, Birdie. May you hear the voice of the Lord and follow it in obedience, and may you some day be given even a tiny taste of the joy that you bring to our lives.
Happy Birthday Birdie! I only met you while you resided in your mama’s belly but you were wiggling away reassuring your mama of new life.
I clearly recall the winter morning you called me to tell me you were expecting Birdie. Cold floor, hot water in the kettle, and I just stood and wept a little weep of joy. 🙂 Good times.