Dear Joshua,
"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." It is truly a joyful day for us for today you are 7. We praise and thank God, the giver of life, for another year for you, our dearest son. God showed us His great love and mercy by answering our prayers for a child and giving you to us. You are one of our greatest blessings from heaven. Our God's gift!
I can still very well remember the anticipation and excitement we felt when you were about to be born. We prepared to go early to the hospital and everyone in the family were excited for your arrival. Daddy Nel and Ninong Jojo drove me to the hospital and they even let me have breakfast at Jollibee. No wonder, even if you can't eat anything from Jollibee, it still remains to be your favorite. I honor you for the discipline you are showing everytime we go to restaurants and you can't order anything for yourself except for "extra" rice and will have to eat daddy or mommy's homecooked meals especially prepared for you. I admit that it breaks my heart everytime we eat out and you can't have anything but happiness fills my heart when I see you being so contented with just being with us in the restaurant, eating your "baon" and happily looking at the colorful poster displays and collecting the store's flyers. I thank God for your self control and discipline.
Remember when we went to Ate Jill's party at Marquinton? We were happy that you showed interest to join the "pabitin". We were a little worried that you might grab other children's toys but how you handled yourself made us so proud of you. You never grabbed, you never hurt but instead had your eye on that one toy that you really liked among the many toys hanging on the "pabitin". When you got what you wanted, you quietly walked away from the crowd and headed back to us happily showing us the toy that you got. We never expected you to act that way and what you did that day made us very happy and proud. In our hearts we know that you are indeed on your way to recovery. You were focused to get what you wanted and was contented with just one and allowed the others to have their share. Bravo our dear warrior prince!
I honor you for the love you consistently show us, hugging and kissing us and always saying how much you love us. I appreciate every word of endearment coming from you for I know how sincere you are when you say those words and it is a manifestation of the purity of your heart. I thank God for each and every single day for giving me the opportunity to love and to care for you and your sister and for blessing Daddy Nel with work which gives us the provision for all our family's needs. Thank you for making us happy with your effort to obey and follow what we ask you to do even if at times I know how frustrating or tiring it can be for you. Thank you for always trying your best and for never giving up for it gives us so much hope and energizes our hearts to continue fighting our battle to overcome your condition. Though there are times when I feel so physically and emotionally tired, looking back to where we started and seeing where you are now, allows me to refocus and gives me the inspiration to go on and finish the fight. You are an inspiration to us. Your obedience to us, your parents, and to the will of the Father will surely bring us to our promised land.
Today, I am affirmed that my vision for you to stand in front of people witnessing how the Lord has healed you and telling them how much love the Lord has for you and for everyone is happenning really soon. Continue to pray and believe in your healing and recovery. The Lord is merciful and kind. He surely listens to your every prayer. Please include in your prayers children just like you and their families who are also fighting the same battle as ours. They, too, need love and prayers.
We love you so much! Cheers to 7 years and ....beyond!
With so much love,
Mommy Jen
