“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12

I came out for my first cup of coffee today at 6:05 a.m. I smiled when I looked at the clock and reminisced for a few minutes, till 6:14 a.m.

This is only relevant because today is my daughter’s 8th birthday. You see, eight years ago, at 6:05 a.m. I was in the throes of crazy labor, barely making it to the hospital to give birth. We pulled in to the emergency entrance at 6:00 a.m. and Abby arrived at 6:14 a.m. The labor and delivery rooms were on the third floor and the poor nurse taking me up there in a wheelchair had to sprint or she was going to deliver Abby. Abigail Genevieve was very determined to enter this world with a bang, and she did. She was not patient at all, giving her Momma no time for the help of pain medication and was almost born before the doctor arrived.

I laugh when I think about all this, because that is generally the way this darling girl lives life. Intense, active and determined. She has a joy and zest for life that is infectious. She loves Jesus and shares that love all the time. She inspires her Momma more than she knows.

My journey with Jesus really took off during my pregnancy with Abby. A friend was married to a minister and while I would sit and eat at the table in our office, they would engage my curious heart in conversations that stirred emotions I never knew I had. It instilled a longing to know more about this God – someone vastly different than the God of my youth.

Not long after Abby’s birth, I had my little world rocked. At least I thought it was my world at the time. I lost my job only days after returning from maternity leave. As shattering as it seemed – I was the main breadwinner for our family – something inside said “stay calm, this isn’t as bad as you think it is.” I chose to trust that feeling. Oh sure, I was scared. But within weeks, a new opportunity came about and now I can see that it had God’s hand all over it. It opened up doors that I could have never imagined. More importantly, it opened up my heart and eyes to a relationship with my King and Creator. Driving to my new job one day, I pulled off the road and prayed with Chuck Swindoll, asking Jesus into my heart.

The past eight years have been a journey on a number of levels – as a Christian, parent, wife and friend. Today, my world is so much bigger than the trials of each day. I am not nearly as rattled by the things of this earth as I was back then. And, I see things with a fresh set of eyes, knowing there is more to the story than I can see and experience now. And I want my life to make a difference for His Kingdom, a purpose that just was not in my field of vision in the past.

Intense, active and determined. When I think about this verse in 1 Timothy, I can almost visualize gripping on to Jesus as we navigate this life, shining a light for others to see, with a divine drive and determination. This is something I can see in my daughter. And, this is how I want to live my life as well. Happy birthday, Abby.