Happy Birthday sweet girl

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

I became a father on June 26, 1993. Twenty six years ago today. A little bundle of energy named Jordyn Katherine was introduced to the world after eight hours of labor and a bunch of pain. I knew I loved my wife. I knew she came from a great family but man the first time you see your wife go through childbirth you realize she is much tougher than you are.

I remember that I was expecting it to be like it is on television where the baby comes out crying. That was not the case. She came out silent. I was freaking out. I remember dropping to my knees to pray. The doctor looked at me and assured me she was fine. I was not even a minute into being a father and I had already realized that my worst fear would be losing a child.

At the time I was the Recreation Director in Scott City. We were in the process of building a sports complex and I was never home. I used to get her out of bed when I got home just to rock her. It was not long after she was born that I realized we had to leave that job. I could not stand the thought of not seeing her enough.

We ended up in Hays and although the job had its own growth curve I saw her much more. She was funny. The day she was born was pretty much the last time I ever wondered if she would make a sound. The kid could talk. We were told at her first parent teacher conference that we would hear for the rest of her life that she talked a lot and knew what everyone else was doing but may not know what she was supposed to be doing. How true that was. Which, by the way reminds me of one of her favorite comedians talking about the instructions on a tube of Cannonball wound ointment. “Do not stand directly in front of a cannon. How true that is.”

When Aly came along Jordyn turned out to be a great sister. She also turned into a great prankster. She once convinced Aly to look at the ceiling and say “Gullible” and it would sound like “Greenbeans”. Say it slower. Say it louder. Keep trying. Aly bought it and is only slightly less gullible today. Those two were inseparable. The connection she had with her brother was special as well. “Korbin you shut that door” was a constant as he would not let the teenage Jordyn ever have time alone.

One day getting ready for work I walked into the kitchen to see Jordy sitting there watching her mom pick up pet droppings in the yard. Mary was dry heaving. Jordyn went and got a bowl of cereal and ate breakfast while she watched.

Her youth pastor once called me and told me he had to share something. He had asked the kids to write a prayer request on a card so he could pray specifically for them. He assured me he had never betrayed that confidence but thought this would be okay. Jordyn, at age 13, had written “Pray for your own problems. I don’t have any.”

Her computer was filled with videos. Her and her friends recorded some of the dumbest things you ever saw but they are hilarious. Interpretive dancing wrapped in Christmas lights is one of my favorites. We have found notes she wrote to herself. We found dollar bills stuffed everywhere in her car. We heard she used to go to drive throughs and ask “Is water free here?”

She had a group of friends that still amazes me. She had friends who were in every cross section of life. She danced from the time she was around 4 until the night she died and loved it. It sort of set her heart free. She loved her sister, her brother, her mom and dad, her friends, Jesus and life itself. She was a one of a kind free spirit.

I could write stories about her all night. When she died my head new it was true. My faith accepted it. My heart took a while. I know everything I imagine past that day was never going to happen, but man I still dream it up. Today I just imagine telling her Happy Birthday. We miss you sweet girl.

For Jordyns birthday take time at the dinner table tonight for these two questions. We still do it today.

What’s the best part of your day?

What’s the worst part of your day?

Challenge: Have fun, do your best. Know that we love you.

Rick Claiborn