Feliz Cumpleaños, Sarah!

 I have a friend...whose birthday is today. She is one of the sweetest people God has put in my path. Everything she does, is intentional. The first memory I have of her is meeting her at church and her, at the time, two small boys were climbing the stairs...and she was managing them lovingly and yet she tells me she is a Small Group leader! In my mind I thought, "How in the world does she have time to be a LEADER of anything." This was only a small glimpse of the heights that she and Grant reach to achieve. The next thing I knew she was inviting me in to her life (sharing being pregnant with Ryan at only 7 weeks and showing me her pooch), telling me she had dreams about me in the middle of the church hallways (which might have involved me being a call-girl 😏), us sharing in our many intimate stories and needs for birth control...I'll leave it at that...and from there it has exploded.  There are so many stories now, but I want to mention a few attributes of Sarah, which I'm sure most of you know, but believe need to be honored today.

She loves Jesus, man.  With ALLLLLL. Her. Heart.

She makes you feel special and connected right off the bat.

She texts me, she calls me...her kids even Facetime with me.

She knows how to listen...even when I'm not.

She remembers things that I tell her and is continually wanting to know, "How are you?"

She texts me pictures of her burnt self, because sweet as she is...she is lacking melanin.

She drops everything she's doing to give me a hug...with a running start.

She texts me crazy funny meme's that most moms can relate to.

She also is the best at filling in an acronym when we are both stumped as to what they mean,
       me: "what does NSFW mean..."
      her: "Never stop flying wingman....
               now sit for wooooonminute...
               nary so far walking..."

She could be a Lands End model, but watch out...her Essential Oil game is no joke...seriously...she'll rub something on ya soon enough if she hasn't already.

She is sooooooo much fun to play a game with.

She has the sweetest boys.

She pushes me further and further into my relationship with Jesus; she's a Jesus sister.

She LOVES my guacamole, and I love making it for her.

She is vulnerable, which makes you vulnerable, which makes me cry, and she loves me even through my tears...which our abundant.

She makes everyone around her feel comfortable.

She connects with people instantly.

She needs quiet/no talking/no people time...but will still text me 50 words in a minute.

She's not afraid to send 7 texts all at once.

She is a boymom and helps me realize the crazy in my house is just normal

She lives by the "It's fiiiiiiiiiiine." line

She likes bunnies...and ducks...and I still love her

She's not a secret keeper...but not in a bad gossip kind of way...just because she can't contain the joy she feels from exciting news...hey, she's working on it.

She's not drama. NOT. AT. ALL.

She is a lightweight...and loves bubbles

I do not EVER have to clean for her...which puts her at the top of my list instantly.

She will pray.  I know that if I text her, she will drop what she is doing and pray for me.

She thinks I'm funny.

She dreams about me...

She dances just as much as I do on the dance floor...which is saying something...even with a heart condition.

Which reminds me...she always leads from her heart...even though she thinks her heart is broken...I think it might be the strongest muscle in her body because she can't say no to any baby...or any body, because she doesn't want to let them down...she loves with all the heart that God has given her and she uses it abundantly.

Sarah, for your birthday, I want you to know how special you are to me. I'm sure not just to me though, probably to hundreds of others. Thank you for always giving of yourself, your time, your prayers, your ideas, your persistence, your enthusiasm, your vulnerability, your honesty, your counsel, your humor, and just your inherent will to be happy, lovable, and kind.

We've only been friends for 5 years and yet I feel like I've known you most of my life. I love you like family. Thank you for being you. For doing life with me. I am so honored to know you and call you friend. May you have the happiest of birthdays.