My Valentine Gift

I am such a sap! Today we are celebrating Faith’s 9^th birthday and it is such a joy to share life with Faith. I never knew a kid could be so obedient, thoughtful, compassionate, kind and imaginative, but God has made Faith very special. Her heart toward others is so beautiful and I thank God for who He is molding her to be.

I put a few photos of her on facebook and immediately got a few comments from mothers around the world whose children have been touched by Faith’s kindness and friendship and I literally almost began to cry. I KNOW as a 9 year old, I was not anywhere as thoughtful and compassionate as Faith and it amazes me that at the young age of 9 she really understands the need of a friend to those around her. She chooses the least of these, the underdog, the one who is different, and the lonely one sitting out of a group as her friend. I am amazed by that spirit of love.

There have been times when I have been fearful that our time here is ruining my kids because of the difficult life of those around them, but moments of reflections like birthdays are great times to look at who my child is becoming and see how God as used the tough stuff not to harden their hearts, but to grow their heart more deep, more real, more insightful and more like His. I have noticed the same things in Elijah and Mercy, but I wanted to dedicate this post to Faith because she is shining the Light of Jesus to the kids here at Beautiful Gate as well as to the volunteers, teams and missionary kids around her and it is her special day, her birthday. Thank you God for the gift of Faith because she is such a precious gift to our family!