What Birthdays Have Taught Me
1st Birthday-- cake is GOOD!
8th Birthday--sleeping bags, new pjs, and music with friends...sleepovers are fun!
10th Birthday--My friend Mary can make herself burp but sometimes it comes out of the wrong end.
14th Birthday--My girlfriend never let my birthday pass without celebration. Life is worth celebrating. Friends are worth celebrating.
16th Birthday--Friends will keep a secret for a surprise party even when you are with them all day for 2 weeks of band camp. Friends love you enough to not give up on you when they see you making one destructive decision after another.
21st Birthday--I want to be a rebel. Do something rebellious on my 21st birthday. Talked a cute guy into going with me to give blood. Being a rebel is being different! I am pretty sure I read something about that in the Bible my girlfriend gave me years ago for my birthday. By the way, I married that cute guy.
27th Birthday--The sweetest gift I ever received sat in an infant car seat in front of me with a pink envelope in his lap, just 4 days old. Motherhood is a gift.
39th Birthday--Miss B. gave me the only red tomato we got from our shaded, backyard garden. Children receive joy from giving, making the gift all the more precious.
40th Birthday--My friend is a step a head of me in life. We celebrated her 40th and she wanted to do the same for mine but we would have made our move to island by then. No problem, we just moved it up a few months. Some events have to happen early or late, but do it anyway!
41st Birthday--Ice cream! Good friends, Florida beach, and four flavors of ice cream. We have literally grown up with our friends. Married, college students, Bible Studies, celebrating births, graduations and graduations (and even more for one of us!) praying for tiny baby girls, Hand-n-Foot, Ho Hos, praying, sharing hand-me-downs, moving (they are an entire page in my address book marked out again and again), homeschooling, ministry, unexpected pregnancies, grieving....legit friends. When you celebrate, they celebrate with you. When you weep, they weep with you. I want to be that kind of friend.
42nd Birthday--I am not 20. Those were great days, but life and the Lord have changed me and not just my physical appearance. I know so much more than I knew then even though I was in school until I was almost 30! Through the ups and downs, the Lord has RESCUED me. Molded me. He has forgiven me. Broken my heart. Healed me. Satisfied me. Rejoiced over me. Forgiven me some more. Instructed me. Held me. Proven Himself trustworthy and I know so much more from this journey of life. I am still teachable. I appreciate, at 42 years of age, the Lord has not called me "finished" yet but still nudges, grooms and grows me. He sees that I am worth the effort and that is humbling.
So at 42, I know that I still have a lot to learn. A lot of people to love. And a GREAT big God that has slayed many giants in my path (especially this past year) AND who is not finished with me yet.
8th Birthday--sleeping bags, new pjs, and music with friends...sleepovers are fun!
10th Birthday--My friend Mary can make herself burp but sometimes it comes out of the wrong end.
14th Birthday--My girlfriend never let my birthday pass without celebration. Life is worth celebrating. Friends are worth celebrating.
16th Birthday--Friends will keep a secret for a surprise party even when you are with them all day for 2 weeks of band camp. Friends love you enough to not give up on you when they see you making one destructive decision after another.
21st Birthday--I want to be a rebel. Do something rebellious on my 21st birthday. Talked a cute guy into going with me to give blood. Being a rebel is being different! I am pretty sure I read something about that in the Bible my girlfriend gave me years ago for my birthday. By the way, I married that cute guy.
27th Birthday--The sweetest gift I ever received sat in an infant car seat in front of me with a pink envelope in his lap, just 4 days old. Motherhood is a gift.
39th Birthday--Miss B. gave me the only red tomato we got from our shaded, backyard garden. Children receive joy from giving, making the gift all the more precious.
40th Birthday--My friend is a step a head of me in life. We celebrated her 40th and she wanted to do the same for mine but we would have made our move to island by then. No problem, we just moved it up a few months. Some events have to happen early or late, but do it anyway!
41st Birthday--Ice cream! Good friends, Florida beach, and four flavors of ice cream. We have literally grown up with our friends. Married, college students, Bible Studies, celebrating births, graduations and graduations (and even more for one of us!) praying for tiny baby girls, Hand-n-Foot, Ho Hos, praying, sharing hand-me-downs, moving (they are an entire page in my address book marked out again and again), homeschooling, ministry, unexpected pregnancies, grieving....legit friends. When you celebrate, they celebrate with you. When you weep, they weep with you. I want to be that kind of friend.
42nd Birthday--I am not 20. Those were great days, but life and the Lord have changed me and not just my physical appearance. I know so much more than I knew then even though I was in school until I was almost 30! Through the ups and downs, the Lord has RESCUED me. Molded me. He has forgiven me. Broken my heart. Healed me. Satisfied me. Rejoiced over me. Forgiven me some more. Instructed me. Held me. Proven Himself trustworthy and I know so much more from this journey of life. I am still teachable. I appreciate, at 42 years of age, the Lord has not called me "finished" yet but still nudges, grooms and grows me. He sees that I am worth the effort and that is humbling.
So at 42, I know that I still have a lot to learn. A lot of people to love. And a GREAT big God that has slayed many giants in my path (especially this past year) AND who is not finished with me yet.
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