Thirty-Two Years Ago Today...(April 15)

Thirty-two years ago, I was struggling to get through college, trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life.  I was months away from my 20th birthday and miles away from Memphis, Tennessee.

I wasn't there to behold the perfection that would be born on this day nor did I have the privilege of nursing the tiny newborn body. There are no memories of her first step or her first words. I didn't get to rock her to sleep with soft lullaby songs, nor wake her up with smothering kisses. I wasn't there to dress her for her first day of school, and I have no idea what her favorite toy was. 

Though I missed those first seven years of Jessica's life, she is--for all practical purposes--my firstborn...and the love I feel for this precious child of mine overwhelms me each time I think of her.

A grown up in a little girl's body, she was always rambunctious and incredibly intuitive.  Her boldness and sassiness are still undeniable, and  her strong-willed personality helped her navigate through the tumultuous teenage waters and thrive during her college days.  Throughout those years her days were filled with cheerleading, basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, church, choir, ADPi sorority and teaching.  Whew!  And her life is well documented in pictures--she captured every phase of her life on camera!

She has always been so much more mature than her age; and even now, she has become a leader in her own right, still full of passion, still full of life. and i am blessed to have the privilege of being a part of the last 25 years that have created a lifetime of memories to treasure always.

Now, thirty-two years later, she is married raising her own daughter, about to experience the birth of a second daughter. How proud I am of the woman she has become!

Today, as we celebrate Jessica, we also, once again, celebrate God's providence in all things which allows my cup to runneth over!