Happy Birthday To Our Laura...

I can't believe it was eleven years ago...

Your first birthday party...

And now your eleventh...

We love you so much Laura!

Happy 11th Birthday !!!

You have been such a gift...

from the moment we began to anticipate your arrival...

We love you!!!

Love,

Mom & Dad

(I wrote these words years ago...right after you were born...but just found them again this morning)

For My Laura...

As I cradle you,

And your trusting eyes look into mine,

My heart aches in the fullness of the love I feel.

Though bundled tightly, securely,

You are so fragile and so vulnerable.

The weight of your small life crushes me

As I question how I can shield you from the dangers of this world.

But then,

I remember.

You are His...

God's.

He formed you,

Every tiny detail...

Your little fingers, toes, small ears--

Even before you were born,

He knew your strengths and your weaknesses.

He made you with a plan in mind,

A plan for your good and His glory.

There is so much I anticipate...

Hearing you call me Mama,

Seeing you take your first stumbling step,

Watching you draw a flower,

Or dress up in a princess gown.

I think of all the joys ahead of us...

Learning to read, riding a bike, making friends.

And I already pray that someday you'll find a man to love

As much as I love your daddy.

And even more, that he'll love you back

With a love that only God can grow.

I want all of that for you.

But as I gaze down at you now...a tiny bundle of pink,

My own daughter.

It's hurts deep to search your eyes and know that along the path of life--

You will know sadness.

You will know hurt.

You will know pain.

I start to think that I'd remove all that,

Protect you from it all--

If I could.

But then, God gently reminds me,

You are His..

And that He loves you more than--

I ever could.

There's so much I want for you,

But above all else,

I want you to be fully His--

To be the woman He created you to be.

And I know that sometimes He allows suffering,

So we will know His sufficiency.

He allows our weakness,

To evidence His strength.

And so, My Child,

With all that is within me,

I entrust you to His care.

I will do my part--

To teach you.

To train you.

To love deeper-deeply,

But I know He is your true shelter.

He knows your days, your years...

Since first He--

Designed you.

Created you.

Knit you together.

And so, my deepest prayer is that

You will set your heart and mind and might and soul to--

Seek Him.

And please Him.

And love Him.

And so, my deepest prayer is that

God will mold your heart--

To be gentle.

To be gracious.

To be merciful.

To be strong.

To show real love to others,

And so, even now,

When your precious fingers are curled around my own,

What I really want most, My Child,

Is for you to be

His.