Someone very special....

She is bubbly, lively, lovely and carries the presence of the Lord where she goes. She is real, pliable, loving, caring, selfless, pretty, hears well from the Lord. She makes me laugh, never dull, precocious, never subtle, never bland.

A steadfast warrior for the Lord, fickle with almost everything but never with the Lord. She has a beautiful voice, face, smile, figure too! She stands for what she believes in, stronger than she thinks she is, sensitive to the Lord's leading, highly favored daughter of the Most High.

She keeps on going when she doesn't feel like it. She keeps on going when she doesn't want to. She keeps on going despite what she thinks. Unwavering faith.

She brought me into the fold, made me feel loved, accepted and highly valued. She taught me how to love the young ones, her maternal instincts kicked in, way before motherhood. God-given love, painstaking acts of love as she showered her lambs with all she had within her even when it seemed as though she didn't have any more to give. She never, never gave up on us! I learned to love, to befriend, to see with eyes of love instead of my own human eyes when I saw the young ones through her eyes.

She never takes credit for the work. She returns it all to the Lord. She inspires, encourages, whips into shape, when she has to. She never, never punishes but corrects lovingly. Very few have had the privilege to see the side of her that I have seen. What I have seen is so so beautiful, so fragile and yet so strong. Created lovingly by the Lord for His purposes, His service, His blessings to be poured upon.

I pay tribute to a friend, a confidant, a teacher, a great servant of the Lord for whom I am so blest to have in my life.

Words will never suffice to describe her and all that she is and does, but I want to affirm her as she affirms me and others as we journey on with the Lord. So, thank you, my dear, dear Loretta.