Twenty six years ago today the most profound thing happened to me. Something that would change my role, my perspective, my life. I gave birth to my precious firstborn – Janay Rochelle.
Little did I know as I held her for the first time, that I had a future world traveller in my arms who, by age 25, would have visited every continent except Antarctica. As I breathed in her sweet baby scent, I had no idea that she would by age three have a passion for Jesus and for telling people about Him that would continue into her adulthood. When I put her in her car seat to take her home for the first time, I could not have fathomed that she would one day grow up and live in a different state than I did. During those first sleepless nights, rocking her back and forth, comforting her, I never imagined that when she was my age she would be comforting and guiding young girls with eating disorders and girls across the world in Cambodia trapped in the sex trade. As I held her close and nurtured her as only a mother can, I didn’t know that she would one day be doing the same for children in Mexico and Africa.
There are so many things that a first-time mother does not know in the beginning. She doesn’t comprehend that her first daughter will make her so proud that sometimes her heart will feel as if it will burst. She has no way of understanding that the love that began when she first conceived the beautiful baby girl would only grow with each new day to proportions never known before. She hasn’t yet experienced the joy of watching that little child grow into an amazing young woman who loves God and people with her whole heart. And she hopes, but hasn’t yet known the delight of being able to call that precious one, one of her best friends in the entire world.
Happy birthday, Janay. My lovely and precious girl. I could not be more proud of you. I could not be more honored to call you my daughter and my friend. I love you more than I will ever be able to fully express. Thank you for making me a mommy 26 years ago. My life has been so deeply enriched from the moment you made your home in my belly and captured my heart. I love you, baby….so very much…..
