Happy 19th Birthday to Bliss!

Nineteen years ago, a baby girl came into our family. We lived in a tiny 800 square foot apartment. I officially had three children under the age of three and today those little girls are 21, 20, and 19 years old. I wish I could go back and tell myself how quickly time would truly fly.

Bliss was one of those kids.

The kind who would talk too loud, and say embarrassing things. Like the time we were in Williamsburg, VA and a rather round lady walked by in full Revolutionary War costume– Bliss basically hollered, “Why is that lady wearing such a fat dress???”  Bliss was only 5 years old but the lady sure did give me a stare.

David always called her the bull in a china shop. She was messy. Broke things. A wake of hilarity everywhere she went. Clumsy. Bumps, bruises, scrapes, broken bones and ER trips on a bi-annual basis. It was never a dull moment with Blissy.

Oh but such a heart.

She’s been industrious since she was wee tiny. Always (messily) creating. Selling. Working. She dug ditches at midnight with her father while we rebuilt a house in the ‘hood and she sold fresh squeezed orange juice at the end of our driveway. She made tiny bracelets and earrings. She’s been a hard worker all her life and then always given darn near every penny away. Her generous heart is the most beautiful thing about her. My favorite story of her first semester away at university was how she gave her last two dollars to a homeless guy.

Bliss has always been challenging. She challenges every rule and authority, but seriously in the right way. If something is wrong, she can’t NOT fight it. She has to speak up. Speak out. Even as a little girl David and I would find ourselves thinking…”you know…she is right….” She wouldn’t argue– she would test. Test for herself. Test us. And it was always a good thing. We always knew where we stood with Bliss and that was something we appreciated.

Bliss has always made us laugh. Her face literally erupts as tears fly out when she finds something funny. She silently shakes and cries and when she finally can tell us what she thought was so funny, the way she describes it makes everyone laugh so hard they cry.

Yes, she is beautiful. She is intelligent. Street smart. She is a good friend and a wonderful daughter. She never gives up in a race…on a friend…and she doesn’t know how to quit. I’m not exactly sure how the Lord will use this bundle of joy to change the world…I only know that the world will never be the same because of a girl like Bliss.