Birthday

Well, today (July 29th) was my birthday. I spent it with my family and it was great. Birthdays always make me think about the more important things in life like my purpose, God, my challenges, my family, my achievements, and my failures. Maybe we should do our new year's resolutions on our birthdays? Jobina got me a non traditional and simple birthday card. The front page read "I like you..." and the interior wording was "You take kissing seriously." I'm glad she noticed!

I also got phone call messages from my brother and mom which was really nice and made me smile. In my humble opinion people, make two big errors when it comes to their birthday. Some ignore their birthday. These types pretend (or believe) it's not important and they either feign discomfort when anyone tries to honor their big day, or they truly are uncomfortable - like they don't deserve any sort of recognition! I don't like this approach because it seems to rob themselves (and others) of the joy of celebrating their life, uniqueness, and God's work in their life. On the far other end of the spectrum is the birthday addicts. They make sure you know their birthday is coming - maybe even weeks or months in advance. They then either plan their perfect day (down to the last detail) or they wait expectantly for others to put on a big celebration for them and are often disappointed.

I wonder though if we could embrace the positives of both approaches (humility and celebration) without the negatives (feeling unworthy to be special or being full of oneself)? I want to enjoy my birthday and celebrate God's making and sustaining me. I want to let my family celebrate me, being humble yet thankful at the same time. I want to party, think deep thoughts, open gifts, remember my blessings, and share the experience with others - all with a humble and thankful heart. Of course I'm not there yet (ask my wife) but I feel God is working on me. So how about you - do you like your birthdays? Where on the scale do you fit in? If your birthday is coming up soon (or has just recently passed), let me say a hearty "Happy Birthday" to you and I hope you have a great day!!