I think we all get so caught up in life and everything going around us, that we forget to acknowledge the guides that God has provided us with. God says “honor your father and mother, that your days be long in the land that the Lord is giving you.”

To my parents,

Here are some things I would like to tell you that I don’t tell you often enough.

1. Thank you for showing me love

I will forever be thankful for your marriage. God is the architect of love and he has sculpted a marriage and a bond that has been an influence to every friendship and every family relationship I have encountered. In the future, Lord willing, it will influence my own marriage.

2. Thank you for telling me no

I didn’t realize how much I would appreciate it until now. Having parents who actually care about where I am and when I am is a blessing. Thank you for protecting me when I was too blind to see the harm coming towards me. Thank you for being strict and stern when you told me who and where I could hang out.

3. Thank you for forgiving me and teaching me

I am sorry for not obeying you at times and for the things I didn’t understand. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that when I was disobeying you I was also disobeying God. Thank you for showing me how to ask for forgiveness of my sins.

4. Thank you for teaching me "yes ma’am" and "yes sir"

Respecting my elders by saying yes ma'am and yes sir is one of the biggest tools that I have learned from you. It shows a line between elder and child and who my authority is. It teaches obedience and respect which has been lost in some newer generations. Thank you for teaching me the importance of respecting and loving my elders.

5. Thank you for teaching me what dedication is

Thank you for teaching me to never have doubts and never stop going for my goals. You showed me that there is always a way with a trust in God. There is a deeper meaning of dedication and that is the one that is used for time. Dedication of time to your children and your family and your work is a characteristic I carry along with myself today.

6. Thank you for having high expectations of me

Thank you for never letting me stop at the bare minimum and challenging me every day. I have succeeded in my field of interest and have branched out to continuously learn every day. I notice that because of how many challenges you threw at me I now use that in my everyday work challenge for myself.

7. Thank you for teaching me what true elegance is.

I have learned the proper way of how to be a lady and demand my respect in a room. I have learned how to respect others and learned the etiquette of treating others. More importantly, I have learned the importance of being a phenomenal woman of God.

8. Thank you for supporting me

Thank you for driving me to every extracurricular activity I was involved in. Thank you for the time you spent working for me to be able to even drive to those activities and participate in them. It really has paid off.

9.Thank you for supporting my excessive closet

Thank you for shopping with me and supporting my love for shoes. Thank you for going out of your way to find me dresses that were modest enough for me. Thank you for being my own personal Barbie and Ken that I can dress up for special occasions.

10. Mom, thank you for being my daily inspiration

Thank you for being the God-fearing woman that you are. You constantly make sure I have everything I need and you're the support I needed growing up. There is no stronger love for people than the one that you have. You have such a caring soul and I couldn’t ask for anything more special. Your caring and loving spirit is living through me daily. Thank you for unconditionally loving me. You are the woman I look up to. When I’m 50 years old I’ll still be your little girl.

11. I will always be ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’

Thank you for being the jealous father that you are. Thank you for teaching me that excuses are not in our vocabulary; it has given me the dedication to my work today. Thank you for showing me what dedication means through the Jaguar season tickets you bought.You have always been my personal mentor. Thank you for your hard work and providing for our family. I have never seen such a hard working man.You have shown me how a man should treat a woman and you have raised me up to be a woman. Although I am growing up, I will always be Daddy’s Little Girl.

With confidence, I can say that over my 19 years I have developed into a strong, God-fearing woman with the love and support of my parents. Also with confidence, I can say that I have regretted telling them thank you for a lot of occasions. I continue to read scripture and I am noticing the importance of parents and I become more grateful for them every day.

I love you, mom and dad.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)