To the people who make my life better, thank you.
To my Mother and Father, thank you for the support you give me endlessly. I have never known love to be so forgiving and accepting as the love I see and feel from you. We’ve had our rough patches. Our growing pains as I grew up and continue to grow into who I am becoming. But the pains we’ve experienced together have only strengthened our bond. I know you’re always a phone call away, and that the distance between us means absolutely nothing should the need arise. Thank you for being who you are.
To my sister Courtney, thank you for being the friend I needed in my youth and the friend I wanted in my adult life. You are smart, and funny, and kind in ways that I can’t even begin to describe. You see the world with a shrewd sort of wisdom and you take life by the horns to engage with the challenges you face head on. You are so brave. Thank you for being who you are.
To Donna Smith, thank you for being my mentor and my friend. You embody hope for me. And I think that has more to do with you and your personality than it does for my state in life. You exude faith and trust, not because you get it perfect all the time, but because you have so given yourself over to God to allow God’s own growth to take place in your heart. I have seen you smile and cry and be serious and be lighthearted. And through it all I have experienced the breadth of what love for a fellow sister in Christ can mean. I know you’re there for me, and I can’t begin to express how much comfort that brings me. Thank you for being who you are.
To Tammy Hyatt, thank you for being there for me when no one else was. Thank you for stepping out in faith to talk with me that first time, not knowing exactly what you were getting yourself into. I know that had you not been there when you were and responded the way that you did, I would not have experienced the growth and the renewed sense of hope that I came to experience. You have been the spark to the flame of trust in my life that had been smothered by life and its trials. Thank you for being who you are.
To Nikki Hunt, thank you for being the Mama Bear in my life. You have been there with tough love when I had given up. You have been there with comfort when all I knew was harshness. You have been there with support when I was weak. You’ve offered a shoulder to cry on, a pat on the back, and an encouraging push out the door. I can’t thank you enough for the ways you’ve been present in my life. You are relentlessly loving, and I am so, so grateful. Thank you for being who you are.
To Sara Wallingford, thank you for being the big sister I didn’t even know I needed. This sounds so childish, but Sara, you are so cool! When I grow up, I want to be like you. I want to be able to see the good in people the way that you do. I want to be able to pray with the sense of trust that you pray with. And I want to love like you love. With relentless hope and with enduring faith. I know that you shed tears, but you have always offered me a smile. The joy of the Lord truly is your strength, and that makes you oh so strong. Thank you for being who you are.
To Miriam Perkins, thank you for shaping me into the person I am today. Without your influence, I wouldn’t be half the person I am. You haven’t just shaped me intellectually. You have shown me what it means for theology to be done outside of an ivory tower. You have shown me what it means to live out the high theology of the classroom, to advocate for those who are oppressed, to step out in faith when the going gets tough. You have shown me that emotion and reason can coexist, and that there is goodness and beauty to be found in this world. You are courageous and kind in ways that I aspire to emulate. You have shown Christ to me in times that I was sure Christ was absent. And you have given me a language to articulate my faith, and for that I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for being who you are.
And to all the others, the professors, the teachers, the mentors, the friends, the coworkers. Thank you. For showing me the love of Christ. For encouraging me. For helping to raise me. For helping me to become the woman I am. For all the many ways that you are a part of my every day life. You make life better. Thank you for being who you are.