Suzanne @ 50

My sister Suz turned 50 yesteday and nobody turned 50 more graciously than she. I was thinking how her birthday has been one of the greatest gifts that I have ever received. Though she is a decade further along, she and I have always been close. We have laughed, cried, prayed and grown together as friends. She is passionate and principled, has a exuberance for life and is generous to a fault. There are few people I admire more and if she is your friend you have a true one. She will not tell you what you want to hear unless, of course, what you want to hear is what you need to hear but she will tell you out of your best interest and an unguiled sense of love. She is intense--a good intense like warmth from a fire or the light from the sun. She is a devoted wife, tested and true, and a tireless mother, sacrificial and steadfast. Fifty years doesn't seem that long the closer I get to it. As you approach getting older, you begin to realize the uniqueness of deep relationships and the trueness of character. You begin to value and cherish people--the clear and certain people who have been tested to the core of their character and who, though flawed in their own way, remain true. Suzanne at 50 is a paragon to beauty, virtue, love, joy and the zest to live in pursuit of Christ.