Dear Christy...

I am sorry this is not being written on your actual birthday, but thankfully I was present with you on your special day! It is so crazy to think you have now turned 30...and what a 30 years the Lord has blessed you with. Usually in life it is the younger sibling looking up to the older sibling, and I know there were those moments growing up that you looked up to me. You followed me into every endeavor from piano to sports. And hopefully I was able to be someone you could look to as an example during those years. But I feel the roles have changed as we have gotten older. The things I have desired and longed for my whole life, you have been blessed with and now I look to you. In you I have found a hero, a role model, and a best friend. You have become a wife, who struggles with how to fill the role of not only a wife but a pastor's wife and a serviceman's wife. You have become a mother, who had to see a child buried long before their time. You have a best friend, who loves you dearly and would do anything in the world for you, including leaving her own family and child to be with you in your need. You are a hero of the faith, you have overcome so much in your 30 years that most of us do not have to experience in a lifetime. The quiet and gentle spirit, the joy, the thankfulness, the love you show others despite the circumstances in your life is truly a testament to the faith that lies within you. You are a role model to follow. You have reached a milestone in life as a wife and mother of 4. While your counters aren't always spotless and Rapunzel runs around the house leaving a trail of feathers from her boa on newly cleaned floors, you exhibit a grace and peace that only comes from Him. Your children and husband should rise and call you blessed and one day they will. They can not help but see the love you have for them, the patience you exhibit to them, and the desire you have for them to grow in their faith. They can not help but one day rise and call you blessed. You are a best friend. You have shown me how to be patient within relationships, how to let the Lord lead even in friendships. You have been someone who cares who listens who cries and who laughs. You truly have shown me how to let things go and let the Lord do the work.
So on this day, I celebrate you. I am thankful for the Lord blessing me with a sister who loves Him, who follows Him, who desires to grow in Him. I am thankful for a sister who trusts me, who allows me  times and moments with my nieces and nephew and does not worry. Who allows me to take them places and love on them as if they were my own and make those memories that will carry through life. I am thankful for a sister who realized early in life the Lord gives and takes away, that He is sovereign over all and that all things come through His hand. I am thankful for a sister who loves me unconditionally, who challenges me, who places the Lord first even in our relationship.
You are truly someone we all can look to. May the Lord continue to bless you, may He continue to shine His face upon you and may He continue to give you peace.
Love you,
Jynne