Faithful and True

Get excited, friends - today is my 36th birthday!!*

(It's also President's Day, so this picture feels appropriate.)

I love that my birthday fell on a National holiday! =)

I've been thinking about the faithfulness of God lately... so without further ado, here are 36 Times God Has Been Faithful in My First 36 Years of Life! =)

1. I was the first grandchild for Babah and Grandad, born two weeks past my due date on their 30th anniversary: February 17, 1984. ❤
2. I have been blessed with wonderful, loving, involved, supportive Christian parents.
3. God gave me a sister and built-in friend, Rachael LaJo, who was born on February 11th two years later.
4. He led my parents to the right doctors to figure out why I was very sick and losing all my hair at age 2, and He eventually healed me from the kidney disease causing those issues.
5. Grandad babysat and took care of me, Rachael, Blake, and Emily, which was an awesome blessing to us and to our working parents in those early years!
6. He led Mom and Dad to enroll us at CHA my first grade year, and I'm thankful for the fun memories and the strong foundation and Biblical teaching we experienced there!
7. In one of many post-church conversations, Mom led me to Christ at age 7! ❤
8. God healed me from a brief round of Bells Palsy in second grade.
9. Grandad brought a little Christmas tree to our upstairs apartment in my 3rd grade year when I had been sad about us not having one... one of my favorite Grandad memories.
10. God orchestrated a well-timed conversation between Mom and Lynda, and He healed me from a much longer and more-likely-to-become-permanent round of Bells Palsy in the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school.  So thankful for my ability to smile! =)
11. God used one of Pastor Craig's sermons to bring strong conviction in my heart that led me to confess something to a close friend and find freedom from guilt and shame.
12. I moved to Tulsa when I got a job here in 2007 (motivated by an unhealthy pursuit of a relationship with a guy who cut me out of his life shortly after that), but God had a plan and brought me here for good reason!
13. John Bevere spoke at Victory Church about the refining fire in early 2007, encouraging us to pray for the fire of God to burn and remove the impurities in our lives and refine us. I prayed earnestly and sincerely for that... not realizing the intense pain it would involve as God faithfully answered that prayer.
14. I joined a Lifegroup when I moved, and God used that group of people I barely knew at the time to help me survive after the devastating loss of my closest relationship and the many friendships that ended alongside it.
15. Through that experience, my cousin's diagnosis, and the tragic death of a young friend we were all praying would be healed (I refer to this broken season as "the trifecta"), God taught me SO MUCH about letting go of bitterness and about trusting His sovereignty in 2007-2008!
16. My friend, Natalie, recommended John Eldredge's Waking the Dead book in that season, and it remains the most helpful and healing book I've ever read!
17. Me and two of my friends started the Diving Deeper Lifegroup in 2008.  It grew and changed and multiplied over time, and I am so thankful for all the great memories and all God did in and through that group!
18. At my New Years Eve party in 2008, I was assigned a group for the scavenger hunt and had to drive around two close friends who were new to our group... needless to say, I was not thrilled with that.  Those two (Chet Lee and Sarah Elizabeth) are my closest friends in all the world today, so that memory still makes me laugh!  Yay, God. =)
19. In November 2011, God rescued my parents after a severe car wreck that could've been fatal, as well as the hospital stays and staph infection that followed for Mom.  I'm deeply thankful for that every time I think about it and how different our lives could look today.
20. I went back to school and earned my Bachelor's degree in 2013.  God used my time at SNU to build new friendships, expand my understanding, and build my resilience... all of which were very helpful in the crazy hard season that came next.
21. When I suffered through a traumatic loss in 2013, several friends came through and supported me, and God was very present and close!
22. My sweetest one and only niece, Kyndal Faith, was born just before that painful season, and her life was a wonderful comfort and a strong motivator for me to keep moving forward and healing!
23. God gave me the courage and the theological foundation I needed to walk away from a personal prayer ministry that turned out to be a truly crazy, cult-like experience.
24. God led me and helped me find a good counselor and helpful antidepressant medication when I needed it that year.  He also helped me find peace and confidence in that decision rather than feeling shame or false guilt about needing extra help.
25. Through prayer, counseling, reading, writing, and honest conversations with friends and family, God has taught me to be gentle and kind with my own heart, to embrace my story and His work in and through it, and to stop suppressing hard emotions... to trust that I can feel and move through them rather than getting stuck trying to push them down!
26. In 2017, a random John Eldredge podcast about God being a "God of process" who is patient and moves gradually and loves to walk with us through the journey saved me from seeking a quick temporary fix and making a potentially dangerous health decision that would’ve been catastrophic to my soul.
27. God gifted me with creative talent and a love for documenting life, and I'm thankful for continued opportunities to bring beauty and joy (to myself and others) through calligraphy, lettering, painting, photography, making slideshows, writing cards, blogging, etc.
28. God has clarified over time and through a series of close relationships that part of my calling is to support, comfort, and encourage women who are grieving (particularly mothers grieving the loss of their child).
29. I have many flaws and imperfections, but I'm thankful God has gradually increased my ability to feel and express love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control!
30. As a single woman, I'm deeply thankful God has provided several good men in my life who care about me and come through every time I need their help, strength, and/or wisdom!  (Dad, Grandad, Chet, Jeff, Kyle, Jon, Steve, Bill, Alan, etc.)
31. God was gentle and kind in the timing of Grandad's death last summer...  Rather than being alone in the nursing facility, he was at home surrounded by people who loved him and were literally praying over him at the moment of his death.  I am thankful he lived to celebrate his 90th birthday less than a month before he died, and that everyone who deeply loved him had time to say and show that and recognize that he was ready to move forward to heaven.  ❤
32. I've seen God's faithfulness repeatedly in our family friendships, and I'm thankful for the way Dad and his friends have stayed close and supported each other for over 40 years... that level of solid loyalty speaks volumes and comforts my soul.  I believe I have the same thing with a few friends here, and I'm incredibly grateful for it!
33. I have felt God's presence and power in the awe-inspiring beauty of Niagara Falls, the beaches of Hawaii, and the epic mountains in Colorado.  I'm thankful for the travel opportunities I’ve had, and for the way beauty comforts and refreshes my heart.
34. God has been very faithful in bringing healing/redemption where there has been deep relational brokenness in my life.  Four friends from the group that shunned me in 2007 have apologized and reconnected on some level.  And there has been similar restoration in another major friendship, accompanied by several conversations that brought clarity, peace, understanding, and healing with my closest friends here. ❤
35. A family friend (Kim) came over to talk to Mom and I at church recently.  She told me, "I always love seeing your pictures on Facebook - it looks like such a great group always doing fun things together - you have THE BEST FRIENDS!!"  She was not wrong, and hearing the words “best friends” in the plural context made me happy. ❤
36. God is opening doors and surrounding me with support in the adoption process, and I know He will continue to lead and guide me through that journey and all that follows!!

"Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!!"

*Today is also National Random Acts of Kindness Day... so it's a great opportunity to be extra encouraging and do something kind for someone! ❤