Dear
God, Creator, Sovereign Lord,
I
thank you for your gifts to me.
Of
one gift now I’d like to write—
My
precious family.
My
dad’s a Godly, loving man,
Selfless
and never vain.
He
freely gives his time and energy
And
seldom acts for personal gain.
My
mother is precious, a wonderful mom,
Whom
I have learned nearly everything from.
Her
wisdom and guidance and friendship I've needed
And
with her, many trials I have overcome.
Philip,
the oldest of six,
Is
the most considerate person I know—
Though
I’m 12 years his junior I feel like his friend.
He
was never too old for his bro.
Then
there’s Callie, my friend,
Overflowing
with love,
Hard
working, inspiring, relatable, honest,
She
falls down and gets up when push comes to shove.
Olivia,
dear Olivia—
The
most remarkable person I've met.
She’s
a productive bundle of enthusiastic creativity.
Her
rival I haven’t found yet.
For
Peter, I have so much respect,
For
the man he is and the things he has done,
For
a stoic ability to put up with me,
For
being a friend, role model, and paintball target all rolled into one.
This
brings me to Aaron, the last of these gifts.
Being
the youngest, his job isn’t easy,
But
he does his best and works very hard.
His
perseverance inspires me.
So,
Lord, these gifts I bring to you
And
thank you for each one.
This
family loves and challenges me
And
brings me joy and tons of fun.
Aaron insisted that I include a
few lines about his muscles, so I wrote this bonus stanza for him:
A
lump is forming on his arm.
His
pecks are finally coming along.
His
shoulders still could use some work.
His
abs are actually somewhat strong.