Happy Birthday Lisa!

Today is birthday number XLI of my very good friend, Lisa. I've decided to conceal her age by using Roman numerals because she is a lady, after all, and I'm going to make you work for it if you want to know how old she is.

I think I've known Lisa for about 4 years. I'm not exactly sure how long it's been because it feels like it's been 20 years, so I get easily confused when using literal time in quantifying our friendship. Those 4 years have been a wild and crazy ride for each of us, and really, the ride has almost nothing to do with one another. I think she would agree that life would have been quite the roller coaster had we never met.

But looking back, it's clear to see that God intended us to meet, and to meet at the time in which we did. We worked together in a very challenging, very competitive, but very rewarding job in reverse mortgage. Lisa had been associated with this particular business for a year or two before we met, so she was a great resource of information for me as I learned the ins and outs of the job. But soon, our friendship leaped over the confines of reverse mortgage. She is a Christian, so we have that very significant commonality which propelled our friendship to something more significant.

We became brother and sister.

We have had many, many "critical mass" conversations where one had to talk the other down off the ledge. I think we both know more about each other than either one of us would be comfortable with if we were to sit down and write down all the "dirt". But our friendship has only deepened as a result.

Today is Lisa's birthday. She is my co-conspirator in mischief. She is the Costello to my Abbott. I'm thankful for her friendship, and it's my prayer that 2009, and her XLII year on this glorious earth would be filled with great blessings. She has raised 3 great children who are the tangible evidence of the selfless life she has lived. She has hundreds of clients throughout her years in reverse mortgage whose lives she has touched in ways which transcend a complicated financial transaction. She has many friends who have nothing but glowing things to say about her because of her wit, her charm, her sensitivity, her trustworthiness, her wackiness, but most of all, her love of God.

I'm believing for good things for Lisa this year. I think she's due for a personal breakthrough.

Happy Birthday, Lisa. And you know...with the economy and all...this is your present from me!