The Best Birthday

Posted on by Amie Posted in EncouragementTagged , , , ,

I like to stretch my birthday as long as it’ll go.  Opening a gift a day, doing activities I don’t normally do all throughout the month.  Well, at least from May 1-20, but today is my actual birthday.

This year I’ve been expecting to spend it really quietly, helping take care of my dad.  I expected to be unhappy, and slightly disappointed.  I expected to be forgotten.

Boy, was I wrong!  Two weeks ago I posted about my father being diagnosed with cancer.  I posted about my depression.  And I didn’t end the post as hopefully as I wanted to, because my hope was running low.  I was worn out.

And so?  I decided to do something I felt like I had needed to do for a long time.  I took a break from talking to a lot of people.  I honestly only talked to my very best friend for the past eleven days.  Was it hard? YES.  You’ll see just how hard it was as I go on to tell you all that has happened in the past eleven days.  I wanted to send so many people emails, text, and messages.  (And I wanted to brainstorm with writers quite a few times.  😂)

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On May second, my dad went in for another test to see how much cancer he had, so they could decide on a treatment plan.  Honestly, I spent the whole day trying not to think about it.  I’ll be honest.  I’ve prayed for healing for A LOT of people, but they’ve never been healed in the way I think they should, and so…I wasn’t praying that my dad would be healed.  I was praying that God’s will would be done.

And it was.  The doctors went in, but they couldn’t find one trace of cancer.  My whole family was blown away by the goodness of God.  I immediately knew that God had heard all of your prayers.  Honestly, at the time I didn’t realize how many people were praying, but I knew quite a few were, and God hears and answers prayers.  

Because of the good news, my parents decided to take us all on a trip somewhere.  I’m the type of person that loves planning trips, even if I’ll never go on them.  So, I actually had a few trips up my sleeve that I wanted to go on.  We ended up going to the mountains, near Chattanooga, and wow.

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The cabin didn’t have any wifi, and so it was just such an amazing experience.  I spent so much time thinking, walking, praying, writing, and reading.  Just having nothing to do is an awesome thing to do, honestly.  😂

I was able to think about everything that had happened, and I’m glad I did.  All of you followers have made me realize why I blog.  Before, it was always just something I enjoyed doing.  I wanted to get my thoughts out there, I wanted to laugh at my own posts.  I wanted a place that I could call mine.

And then when I posted about my struggles, I realized that the effort and time I’ve put into this wasn’t just for me.  You’ve all become so dear and sweet, and wow.  God is good to give us fruit even when we don’t realize what we plant.

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The only downside to the whole trip was the large quantity of ticks that we found on ourselves.  It must be a terrible year, because these ticks were desperate.  The only “person” in the family that didn’t get a tick was Star, the dog!  So you bet I started using her bug spray after I realized that.  Unfortunately, that was on the last day after all the heavy hiking.

We went to Look Out Mountain, where the beginning of the Atlanta campaign started.  It was a neat place, not to mention absolutely STUNNING.  The weather was also so nice, and can I begin to tell you how much I already miss it? (I’ll probably have a photography post coming up. 😉 )

We came home, and I had so many birthday packages waiting for me.  But the one package I want to tell you about wasn’t for my birthday.  This package was from the Smile Project, a group of 30 Christian girls who wanted to encourage me.  Quite a few of them were blog readers!

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Two months ago, I was at a point where I was asking God earnestly to show me His love.  I knew that He loved me, but I wanted to feel that He loved me.

These girls were the icing on the cake.  First God showed me His love through answered prayer, and then through nature.  To finish it off, God used these girls, some who I don’t even know, to remind me that I am loved.

I realized that with so many of these girls and their families praying for my dad, it wasn’t strange that God has healed him.  I’ve never realized before how big God’s church is.  These girls showed me that God’s church, and His people, are everywhere.

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I’ve put all the letters into a notebook to remind me that God is so powerful, and He loves me so much.  The package honestly alone could have made this the best birthday I’ve ever had, but so many people and so many things have happened to make me realize something.

I’ve had probably one of the hardest, and yet, at the same time, it was one of the best years of my life.  I don’t ever want to forget it, or the important things that happened in it.  I want to send everyone of my followers a hug, saying thank you.  Thank you for being here, thank you for encouraging me.  Thank you.

Now, here’s to another good year, right?

~~Amie~~

P.S. I started an instagram for my blog.  You can follow it here.

48 thoughts on “The Best Birthday”

  2. Reply
    Nina Friess says:

    Wow. I am… totally speechless. God is just so amazing. 😄
    Amie, I hope you have the best birthday ever, and I want you to know that I’m still praying for you and your family. 😁♥️♥️♥️

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Reply
    toadstoolartblog says:

    Praise the Lord! I’m so glad that your dad is better!

    And you got to go to the mountains! (You know how I feel about the mountains lol). I just went to Look Out Mountain not too long ago during my spring break! We stayed with some friends of ours, and I took a ton of photos that I still need to post. The weather wasn’t super nice for us until later in the day though. The fog there in the early morning is INSANE. I can safely say that I’ve never seen such dense fog in all my 16 years. As we were driving around it felt like traveling through a ghost town. It was pretty but unsettling at the same time.

    I have something that I wanted to tell you but I didn’t want to tempt you since I know you needed a break from messaging. Are you still on hiatus from Hangouts?

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Reply
    Mary Elizabeth says:

    AMAZING!!! Well done good and faithful servant!
    Also, LOOK OUT MOUNTAIN OHMYGOSH I LOVE THAT PLACE I MISS IT SO SO MUCH!
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAY IS FILLED WITH HAPPINESS AND CONFETTI!
    (Sorry “Bout the caps.) lol

    Liked by 3 people

  14. Reply
    Olivia Bell says:

    Aww, this makes me so happy.😀 I am so happy I was able to be a part of the project and that it meant so much to you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎂🎂🎂 You’re amazing and beautiful and all things wonderful ❤️❤️❤️

    Liked by 4 people

  24. Reply
    Starling says:

    Happy Birthday Amie! Praise the Lord that everything worked out. You have such an encouraging and wonderful testimony. Keep this close to your heart for anytime you feel down or when others are feeling so. God is good!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  25. Reply
    Summer G. says:

    Sending hugs & birthday wishes🤗🎂 Amy, although I knew your Dad had been sick, I had absolutely no clue they thought he had cancer. PRAISE THE LORD IT IS GONE🙌🏻🙏🏻

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Reply
    Allison says:

    Oh my GOODNESS, Amie, this post made me so happy! God is so incredibly merciful and good to answer prayers in such a miraculous way! Also I’m so glad you had a wonderful trip and birthday and liked the package and AHHHH, YAYYYY. ❤ ❤ ❤

    Liked by 2 people

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