Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today you celebrate the gift of 81 years. Thirty-seven of which I had the honor of being your daughter. You have taught me so many things that I know I will never be able to put them all into words but I have listed just a few.

You have never given up on me, even when I strayed from home. You opened your arms wide and welcomed me home when I needed to come back. You have prayed me through many sad and hard times and have held my hand through them all.

You have taught me that no matter how old I get or how long I study I will always be able to learn something from God’s Voice of Truth. I love how you love to study God’s word and how we can sit and talk about it. You have shown me that no matter what you are going through if we lean on God and his strength we can make it through anything.

You have taught me the value in laughter. By never taking ourselves too seriously, we can lighten our load and the load of others.

I have watched you as you watch your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews grow up. You have seen the good and the bad in them and have never given up praying for each and every one of them. You want only the best for all of them but know that they have to make their own decisions and learn from their own mistakes. But you also know that anything is possible with God and so you never give up on any of them.

You have also taught me how beautiful marriage can be. You and mom have shown me how wonderful it is and can be to be tied to your true love for life. You have always treated mom with the utmost respect and love and you both have been a shining example of what it means to have a soul mate to walk through life with. Shannon and I thank you for that.

The Lord has truly blessed me beyond measure when he gave me parents like you and mother. He had to have known that no one else would be up for such a task. You have taught me that the most important things in this life have no price tag. The value of family and friends far surpasses anything else in this world. You have taught me never to compromise my faith in order to fit in or to get ahead. You have been a shining example of my Heavenly Fathers love and compassion for his children and for that I am and always will be forever grateful.

One last thing, I know that you have taught me. No matter how long we have on this earth…life is too short and it goes by too fast that a day should never go by without telling those around us that we love them. I love you and that is one thing that will never change.

So, as we celebrate your 81 years, please know that I am the one who received the best gift of all so many years ago.

Happy Birthday to the best daddy in the world…..

With Love always,

your little girl

2 comments:

Lyla Lindquist said...

Oh, Julie! That is beautiful. What an amazing man he must be. And what a wonderful daughter he's grown.

Lyla Lindquist said...

Oh, Julie! That is beautiful. What an amazing man he must be. And what a wonderful daughter he's grown.