This is a week when we gather around tables, share time with family, eat great feasts, and celebrate one of the finest holidays of the year... my birthday!
In my family, we celebrate Birthday Week. When Gerald and I first started dating, I was mocked for celebrating Birthday Week. I was told it was silly and maybe even a little childish (insert my snort of derision here...). Of course, it's also piles of fun, so it was no surprise when in just a few years, another Birthday Week started to appear in March...
I actually love that my birthday falls so close to American Thanksgiving, as I consider Gratitude to be a large part of my birthday celebrations. The whole point of Birthday Week isn't to receive a week's worth of presents, but to enjoy a week's worth of presence:
Birthdays have taken on new meaning since May 3, 2009. On that day, Death passed near us and God said, "Not today." I'm so incredibly aware that, with a slight adjustment in trajectory, I might not be here to celebrate this birthday. So I will never complain about my age or my years. I want to live long and earn lots of wrinkles. I will live life to the fullest, choose the adventure over the comfortable, never miss a chance to say "I love you" and turn everything I am and have over to God...
Yes, I know there's another holiday tomorrow
and that's a fine one too,
but today is my birthday!!!
In my family, we celebrate Birthday Week. When Gerald and I first started dating, I was mocked for celebrating Birthday Week. I was told it was silly and maybe even a little childish (insert my snort of derision here...). Of course, it's also piles of fun, so it was no surprise when in just a few years, another Birthday Week started to appear in March...
I actually love that my birthday falls so close to American Thanksgiving, as I consider Gratitude to be a large part of my birthday celebrations. The whole point of Birthday Week isn't to receive a week's worth of presents, but to enjoy a week's worth of presence:
I take time each day to enjoy visits with friends and family, sometimes with a party, but mostly with hours spent eating treats or sipping lattes.
I spend a little extra time in Scripture and prayer, talking to the One who knew me before my first breath, who "knit me together in my mother's womb".
I respond to each message I receive on Facebook, giving thanks for the ability to keep in touch with friends from around the world with a few simple key strokes.
I praise God that I am able to make a living doing something I love so dearly, and I also take time off and enjoy the blessings of rest and restoration.
I reflect on the past year, giving thanks for blessings, challenges, and lessons learned.
I spend time looking ahead to the next year, dreaming of new challenges and asking myself questions like "How can I become more _____?" and "How can I do _____?"
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev'ry thought is love.
For ev'ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him.
(My Heart is Filled, verse 3. By Keith & Kristyn Getty.)
Happy Thanksgiving!
And for some of us, Happy Birthday!
Let's give thanks...
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