Baby Belle is 5!!

Where did the time go? I remember so clearly the anticipation of the arrival of my first daughter! A girl, after two boys! What is better than that? Dresses, bows, cute little shoes, pink, purple, etc. She was this cute, sweet, innocent little baby girl. OK, can someone tell me what is wrong with the previous statement? Innocent? Not so much!! In time, that cute, sweet baby girl grew and she started to destroy those dresses, shoes . . . and forget any bows! She screams and fights with her brothers. She rolls her eyes at Mommy and Daddy. She pouts. She slams doors. She taunts the dog. She lies, even steals (watch that halloween candy disappear!) Imagine that! Was that sweet baby just holding it all in? Did she learn all of this from her brothers? Or Mommy and Daddy? We all know Russ rolls his eyes all the time!

What a responsibility given to us to raise this little girl! Belle is a sinner, and our job is to show her her sin and point her to God. But Belle is beautiful! And she is loved by me, her daddy, her brothers, her grandmas and grandpas, her friends (she has many, believe me!), and above all, by God. We pray daily that she will grow up to be a godly woman, and through God's grace devote her life to Him; to live a godly life, to serve Him and others, and to someday find a godly man to marry - Arggh! That man has some serious criteria to meet!!! . . . . . . . . And sometimes, we wish she would not grow up at all.

Although we as Christians know Belle was not perfect when she was born, she was "perfect" to us. And as she grew, her sin grew. But to us, she is still perfect. We love her despite the rolling of the eyes, the screaming, the fighting, the slamming of the door.

And that's how God sees us, those that have given their lives to Him. He loves us despite our sin. He sees us as perfect, washed with the blood of lamb. He loves us unconditionally.

So, today, we celebrate Belle's 5th birthday. We celebrate her life, her five years! We praise God for her health, her smile, her vivacious personality, and we pray that she seeks him more and more with each passing birthday!

Happy Birthday, Belle!