Today you are thirty-five.

We went to the ocean last week and listened to the waves. Walked on sand with the laughter of children our music. Picked up shells and watched the rain and breathed long and deep.

I love getting up early and waiting for the sun. A million stars and black sky slowly turning to color and then light. The first morning was a glorious display of color and clouds, a breathtaking invitation to worship our Creator.

I feel so close to you there. Sky and sea and salty air humming your name.

You were always my sunrise girl, drawn to the sky’s magnificent wonder.

I remember.

This old world goes on, Rissa. Filled with the groans of waiting, the ache of loss. Friends bearing a breaking sorrow even now. And all the world confused and angry, uncertain and sad, it seems.

But God is the same. He keeps us, holds us safe amid the storms. Our Rock and our Anchor, our Friend. And all His promises are yes and amen in Christ. We trust Him. We cling to Him in precious hope.

The skies help me. Turn my gaze upward, to Creator God and Beautiful Savior. To eternity, the joy of rest. The wonder of being safely home, tears wiped away by God’s own hand.

Creation casting the faint light of another kingdom far more glorious than this.

And you, my child, are there. I think of it in grateful wonder.

Today we celebrate you here. We remember all the days of you, all the ways of you. We love you always.

Happy birthday, Rissa.

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11