Dear Anna June,
You are one today my sweet girl. Your first year has been a full one - you spent hours and hours snuggled against me in your solly wrap; tasted your first bites of food; found your singing voice; rode in planes, trains, and automobiles; and have been loved by more people than I can count.
You’re our little wildflower, our fearless girl with a tender heart. The most beautiful blend of sweet and sassy.
Before you were born I took a walk along the lake and prayed over you, over your birth day. For 9 months I asked God for impossible things, and that day they felt even more impossible.
I wanted you to be born when you were ready and on your own time, and I was talking to Jesus about that when I spotted a doe with her fawn a few yards away.
I told Jesus I wanted you to be healthy and to take you home with me to meet your sister as soon as possible and then a rabbit and her bunnies hopped out of the grass where I was walking.
I wanted to hold you in my arms right away when you were born, and I whispered my fears to the Lord and he called to mind Luke 12:22: “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” And right on the water in front of me a duck swam by with her ducklings trailing behind her.
Three animals and their babies all in a row and that verse of scripture in my mind and I felt my whole body exhale as I thought about God’s love for you far exceeding even my own.
A few weeks later I held you for the first time - a full term baby girl, all 9 pounds of you shouting to me of the Lord’s faithfulness.
My sweet girl, God has been answering prayers for you since before you were born.
This last year I’ve prayed for the Lord to bless you and keep you, to shine his face upon you, to be gracious to you, to give you peace. It is my joy and honor to be your momma, to pray these things over you, to watch you grow and explore and become who you were made to be.
Here’s to year two with you Anna June. What a gift you are.
With love,
Mom
