Birthday Blessings

My birthday was last Wednesday, and still the cards and presents are trickling in! I love this lingering part of any holiday or birthday celebration. . . It is like a bouquet of flowers that you know is going to fade out and pass its prime, but it persists as long as it can. I have such wonderful friends and family. It wasn't the quantity of cards or the presents that I received but it was the depth in which my friends and family know me, and they reflected that in what they said and offered. As I was writing thank you notes to my dear ones yesterday for their thoughtful actions and gifts, I became overcome with gratitude for the friends God has blessed me with! He has created a garden for me full of beauty and salve. My friends add beauty to the landscape. I have Poppy friends (truly her name is Popi!) and Roses. I have Lilacs who fill the world with dainty blossoms of kind deeds that come in such abundance! There are those that are like an evergreen, prevailing through all of life's storms and still green! Some friends are like medicinal herbs . . . there to comfort and soothe. Others have a more spicy flavor that adds an element of fun into the simplest of endeavors. The garden of friends that is being cultivated in my life is evidence of a good, wise, kind Father. Thank You, Lord!!