Amanda Lee Sharpe, you are celebrating your 21st birthday today amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Life is momentarily paused but that’s not an excuse to NOT celebrate the amazing person that you are. I am thankful to God for the privilege of knowing you and becoming a part of your life. There’s a hundred and one reasons to celebrate you and your life but today let me just focus on 21 of them:
#1 You are a woman of faith and Faith indeed is your other name. You live your life based on your trust and confidence in the unchanging love and character of God.
#2 You are a woman of courage. While you have your own fears and struggles, you also have the capacity to rise above yourself and overcome your fears, as you have successfully done so in the past.
#3 You are a woman of hope. Because faith is your other name, hope comes naturally to you – hope in the great promises and plans of the Lord, the greatest anchor of your soul. I still remember our prayer walks in Kildonan Park where you would just bare your heart out to God in pure abandon, and hope would always spring forth in your soul.
#4 You can be bold and daring, able to step outside of your comfort zone to discover things that you thought you’re not capable of (remember the McDonald’s job and how it has stretched your capacity to the fullest, developing your patience and character in the process?). You really just have to believe in yourself.
# 5 You are sweet. I love how, out of the blue, you would just message that you miss me and you love me and how your face lights up when you see me. I also love how you hug me every time we see each other.
# 6 You have a teachable heart. I look forward to resuming our heart-to-heart conversations when time is right again and you reaching out to me for guidance on things that are important to you.
#7 Your desire is to serve God. I am so happy to know that you are now part of the leadership team of Uprising and that you are ministering to young ladies through your own life’s story. Your act of service to the Lord through your gifts and talents is awe-inspiring. As you continue to heed the call of God in your life, I am believing that greater things are in store for you.
#8 You are intelligent and articulate. You are very perceptive and smart. No wonder you’ve been excelling well in your subjects. I believe that you will become a great nurse or a doctor someday.
# 9 You are persistent and hardworking. Your diligence and hard labour for your studies is impressive. Wear that same attitude towards how you approach life as whole and you will develop a strength of character that will serve you well through all of life’s challenges.
#10 You have a kind and caring heart. I just know that you will lay down your life to your family and extend a hand to those in need if you have to. I love how you would make time up for Ben when there was just the two of you together. Your love and loyalty to each other inspite of your differences (which by the way is normal for all siblings) is beyond amazing.
#11 You are wisdom personifying. Yes, you are still very young and still have so much to learn. But you are already demonstrating wisdom beyond your age. It is no wonder then that a lot of your friends often come to you for advice and guidance.
#12 You are beloved by everyone. Your name Amanda means “loved by everyone”. I believe it is because you also have so much love to give and you can only receive what you give. You are a caring sister and a loving daughter.
#13 You are like a little child. I am always awed by your child-like faith and your simple joys and pleasure that are truly refreshing and make me look at life in a different yet enriched and meaningful way. You are child-like but not childish, which makes you very endearing to the people who know you.
#14 You are tender-hearted. You easily cry for the things that break the heart which is good, because it enriches the depth of your humaneness.
#15 You are adventurous. I love your presence during our family trips and escapades and I look forward to having more of you in our future travels as we discover beautiful places together.
#16 You have clear focus and direction in life. Unlike others, you have strong and firm goals for yourself and your future and are not easily distracted. You know what you want to become and you won’t stop until you reach your goals, for the glory of God.
#17 You are articulate. You seem to know exactly the kind of words to use in every situation, whether through prayer or by simply providing your opinion on something.
#18 Your face is so angelic. You have the prettiest face and there is something about your smile that radiates so much warmth so please continue wearing that beautiful smile.
#19 You are like the sweet frangipangi. As a beautiful sampaguita flower, you should carry your beauty and your fragrance wherever you go with such confidence because you are a beautiful creation of God, meant to spread love, beauty and warmth wherever you go. Continue to let that beautiful gift of God inside of you out, with the sweet aroma of Christ as your greatest perfume.
#20 You are my third daughter from another womb. You are not just Ben’s little sister to us. You are family to us and our home is your home too. Please know that you can always count on me as a mother figure for you. My love for you is not defined by any biological connection. I don’t need to give birth to you in order to treat you as my own.
#21 You are a beautiful soul, created in the image and likeness of God. Despite your flaws and your weaknesses, you are perfect in your own perfections. God has placed so much possibilities in your soul and everyday, He is maturing you and turning you into the greatest person that He wants you to be. There is no reason to be insecure about who you are because your identity is rooted in the unchanging love of God towards you.
As I write this blog, I remember the times when we used to have our weekly date, especially those moments when we would share silly secrets, admire the beauty of nature, laugh and cry together over Tims’ coffee, do prayer walks in Kildonan Park, or watch a beautiful movie together. And how that memory makes me smile. You have no idea how your life has enriched mine. Thank you for allowing me to love you and for giving me the opportunity to speak into your life.
I look forward to many years of having you as a part of our family. Remember that we are always here for you, cheering you on and supporting you as you walk the path that God has for you.
Happy 21st birthday. Love you my dearest Mandee.
Traversing This Path 