people we love :: aunt melinda

Today on her birthday, I am thanking the Lord for my sister-in-law and dear friend, Melinda.

Melinda wears a number of different hats and she wears them all with grace.  She is first and foremost a woman of God, who loves and fears the Lord with her whole heart.  She is a wife, mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, granddaughter, aunt, nurse and friend.

Ryan and Melinda were married in 2007 and we have loved having her in our family.  She is a faithful wife to my brother.  She loves him, prays for him, serves him and seeks the Lord for how to be a Godly wife to him.  Ryan received grace upon grace the day Melinda became his wife, and so did we.

Melinda sets an incredible example in how to love the family you marry in to.  She loves my parents so well and has a wonderful relationship with them, she genuinely cares for mine and Ryan’s parents and grandparents the way we do, and she loves on Sam as if he were her very own.

In the past three years, Melinda has become one of my closest friends.  Marrying my brother definitely made it convenient for us to have a  deep friendship, but it is no longer the reason we have one.  There are a handful of people in my life that I would consider to be in my “inner circle”-we all have them, and she is one of them- they are the friends whom we share everything with first.

When we see each other, we can spend an entire evening talking and laughing together, completely forgetting the time.  Within a few hours, we will have covered every topic from our faith to the books we’re reading to parenting to new recipes to our kid’s diaper rash.  There is no doubt that we would spend just about every day together if we were neighbors.  I regularly thank the Lord for our friendship, and for free mobile-to-mobile.

One of the most beautiful things about Melinda is the way she mothers my nephew and niece.  She is an incredible mother.  She loves her children so sacrificially and has such a humble and teachable heart when it comes to raising them in the Lord.

By profession, Melinda is a nurse (when she is not at home full-time with her babies).  She has worked in Labor and Delivery and as a Nursery nurse (not to mention her full-time job as the Smith & Rigney family nurse)!  When I see her with Colin and Rylee, it is so evident why the Lord fashioned her for that specific role. She has such a gentle and caring spirit- a genuine love for helping people in need.  I know the Lord has blessed so many patients through her tender heart.

I could keep going.  It’s not hard to think of reasons to thank God for Melinda. She is a woman, wife, mother, and friend to be emulated and I consider myself blessed to have her in my life.

We love you so much, Auntie Min.  We hope you have a happy, happy birthday!

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