Wow...

Dear friends,

You all are amazing. I am speechless. Seriously. Shortly before bed this past Thursday my dear sisters, Tiffany and Laura, presented me with this package.

They went on to share how they had secretly contacted friends and collected birthday/encouragement notes for me. I have never received so many cards before! I haven’t counted yet, but I will soon. Here’s a picture of what I found inside….

The timing of this gift could not have been more perfect. Receiving a gift like this at the end of a particularly difficult day meant more than any of you could know. I was completely surprised, blown away, greatly humbled, and wonderfully blessed. It is amazing to see the diversity of people represented – old friends, new friends, those I thought I’d lost touch with, parents of my friends, and friends of my siblings. If you sent me a note, I hope you are reading this now. Thank you. God used your words (or will use them if I haven’t read your note yet) to bring me great comfort and encouragement. I don’t deserve it, and He is teaching me more about the true meaning of grace through receiving this gift.

I have only read a few so far and have considered spreading them out over a few weeks and pulling them out whenever I am especially in need of a bright spot. So, although I may not have read your particular note yet, I most definitely will at some point soon. I simply cannot tell you all just how much receiving these has meant to me.

Finally, I want to thank my sister, Tiffany, for her heart for taking this on for me. She has walked beside me through this season, and I am SO blessed to call her my sister. The same goes for Laura who helped make this possible and has been a continual encouragement to me. And I want to thank Robert, one of my dear little brothers, who collected letters from friends at church and asked his friends to get involved. I am so blessed.

I know I am going to return to these notes and the Scripture verses and words of encouragement again and again over the days ahead. I am continuing to make physical progress, but the past few days have held a greater degree of difficulty for me. It is so sweet to see how God timed the delivery of this gift from each of you to arrive right in the middle of my low point. Thank you. I just don’t have the words.

I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving recounting His blessings and gifts. I am coming to learn that even our thorns are precious gifts. God is always up to something far greater than we can see or imagine while we are in the midst of the pain. Let’s keep giving “thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), for we have a God who is all-wise, all-loving, all-good, and perfect in every way. Even when our way is dark, He has not forsaken us.

(Just a quick P.S. – I have been overwhelmed by the love and care I continue to receive from each of you and would so love to be able to respond personally to each of your emails, Facebook messages, cards, and phone calls, but my ability to do so right now remains greatly limited. Please know that I dearly love each of you and am SO blessed by hearing from you. I hope to eventually get back to you all. Thank you for understanding and being so gracious. Also, I am still presently without a cell phone in case you have been trying to contact me that way.)