HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISTINA!
Today is my eldest daughter’s birthday. She was my Mother’s Day gift in May many years ago. Christina has been the daughter every mother dreams of having. She is a dedicated wife and mother to her four college age children and has taught them to love their grandparents. She has allowed me to be a part of her entire life and she has enriched mine, immensely. She is discerning and direct. She has compassion for others that are in pain or hurting and reaches out for them. She once picked up a mother and small child, walking alone on the side of the road, and brought them home with her! She has given me a friendship that transcends all others. She offers me an eternal connection.
In life, we are blessed if God gives us a few eternal-friendships…those few, that test the limits of time and last a lifetime. You may not see the person often, maybe not for years, but there is an instant connection when you meet and it is, as if, you have never been separated by time and space.
This is one of those tests of genuine friendship that has been put on paper, as a reminder of the gift of just such a friend…
( A )ccepts you as you are
( B )elieves in “you”
( C )alls you just to say “Hi”
( D )oesn’t give up on you
( E )nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
( F )orgives your mistakes
( G )ives unconditionally
( H )elps you
( I )nvites you over
( J )ust to “be” with you
( K )eeps you close at heart
( L )oves you for who you are
( M )akes a difference in your life
( N )ever judges
( O )ffers support
( P )icks you up
( Q )uiets your fears
( R )aises your spirits
( S )ays nice things about you
( T )ells you the truth when you need it
( U)nderstands you
( V )alues you
( W )alks beside you
( X )-plains things you don’t understand
( Y )ells when you won’t listen and
( Z )aps you back to reality!
If you have been given the gift of one of these friends…
give them a call this week and let them know
how much you appreciate their ministry in your life.
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
