Manly’s Birthday

Happy Birthday, Manly! When I saw this video on FaceBook it made me think of you. I don’t know that you’ve ever bought a birthday cake for any small child other than your own, but since I first met you, I’ve watched you invest time into the lives of children, youth, young adults, and those hurting and trapped in addictions.

The first was my own son Matthew, just 2 1/2 years old when I met you. I saw your love for him quickly grow. You willingly included Matt in everything we did. You were never resentful of his presence, never complained that he was included in almost every date we went on. You played with him at the park, planned our dates to include amusement parks, zoos and taught him how to ride his bike. Do you remember, in the car, telling him to show you the way back home and letting him tell you where and which way to turn? Those were some long rides home. There were times I wondered if you loved him more than you did me. And then two years later when we got married in the courthouse in Savannah Matt felt so included that when we called our parents, Matt proudly announced, “We just got married!”

When our second son, Jonathan, became a Royal Ranger at age nine, not only did you became a Royal Ranger commander, you took him and the other Rangers his age camping, taught them survival camping, prepared them for competition, started a basketball team and brought in kids from the streets around our church to be a part of it all. You helped Jonathan achieve one of his major goals as a teenager – become the National Ranger of the Year. What an honor for him.

When we were expecting our third child and there were complications, you gave me the support I so desperately needed. All those long trips to the specialists, all those amniocenteses, all the tests, never knowing if I would ever hold that precious little girl in my arms, sing to her, change her diapers, brush her hair, watch her grow up. You were there for me. When she didn’t survive and you didn’t know what to do to comfort me you just held me in your strong arms and that gave me the strength to face each day as it came.

Then came another pregnancy, totally unplanned, and again extremely difficult. When the doctors said there was no hope, you stood strong with me – there would be no abortion no matter what the odds were against us. God was on our side and that’s what really mattered. I saw the tears in your eyes as you held her there in the hospital – the love you had for our little girl. And as the years went by you continued to love Heather and be an example of what a really good man, husband, and daddy look like. How many times did I see you in “Have You Been Here Before” – the name she gave her very own beauty parlor. You let her put curlers in your hair and makeup on your face. You were a hilarious sight, but loving every minute of it. You played dolls with her, taught her what “real camping” is, knelt down on one knee to present her with roses at the end of her dance recitals, and took her on dates.

Over the years I’ve seen you sacrifice a great deal to help others through Anastasis, Fort Hope, Teen Challenge Cincinnati, Celebrate Recovery, and small groups. So many lives have been eternally changed because of that sacrifice.

You’ve always believed in me way more than I could ever believe in myself. You encouraged me as I wrote my first book. It was years before I completed it but you never ceased to encourage me. When I received an award for Letters to Lori, I think you were more proud of that accomplishment than I was and couldn’t wait for me to write another.

All those years have gone by – way too quickly. We’re approaching the last years of our lives and you still look at me as if time stood still. You love to hold my hand when we go walking. You look at me and tell me how beautiful I am as though the last 49 years haven’t changed me at all.

I thank God for you. You have made me not only feel loved but dearly cherished. I love you and I hope you have a wonderful day today.