I have to write a birthday card to an American..

oops (that sounds more American)

but it's not a pet, it's a friend so excange pet with friend, otherwise it's OK.

Dear Annegrit,

Please, Please do not change a thing.

You have been given correct answers here, but your real feelings will not be misunderstood from what YOU wrote. You are not writing a business letter!

Please leave it exactly as you wrote it.

I say that even though you wrote:

"God may bless you!"

The word order you used means, in English:

God may bless you, or he may NOT bless you.

But, my dear Annegrit, they will KNOW that that is not what you meant!! They will know that what you meant was, "May God bless you!" ( I hope that God will bless you.)

This simple little mistake will endear you to them. They KNOW that you are not a native speaker of English.

And this card will become a cherished ( to cherish ) family possession. This family would MUCH rather have YOUR true words, from your heart, rather than from your dictionary.

Your mistakes will sound truer to them than, and mean more to them, than artificially correct words. It is the meaning of your heart that will touch them, and this will come through much better in your small, innocent mistakes than through a stiff, correct wording.

PLEASE don't change it.

I don't think so. Some people are perfecionists . They like others to look like them. To be perfect. If I receive a letter in my own language full with mistakes, first of all I will stare at the mistakes and will lose the point.

... but in fact this world is not perfect we are as we are, honest, naive, even when we make mistakes, that is in our natures.

But when I say 'May God bless you', that means to me I wish with whole my heart, with whole my soul God bless you, but it's obvious that there is a diference.