Dear John Michael,

Happy Birthday!  I can’t begin to express how much I cherish the memories of every one of your birthdays!  Dad and I always try to do something on this day that honors what you loved to do on your birthday: going to a movie, eating your favorite foods, traveling somewhere….. This year we will eat your all-time favorite fried green tomatoes made by your Aunt Karen – oh, you loved the book, the movie, and the tomatoes! We will also honor another part of your life that meant so much to us – service to others…… whether it was doing mission work in the southern Appalachians, working with a missionary from Ireland for VBS, volunteer mowing for the elderly, or teaching ice hockey to inner city children….. our treasured memories of are you putting others first.  So, on your day, your cousin Valerie and her three sweet little boys – Knox, Ryder and Jack –  whom you love – will volunteer their service as our church gets a home ready for a missionary family from India.  I can’t think of a better way to honor your life.

Our hearts cry; our hearts rejoice

Our hearts are blessed

Time stopped; time went on

Our hearts are blessed

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of John Michael

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:45