Some of us were raised in a family that make birthdays a big ordeal while others were raised in a way that birthdays really weren’t much different than any other day. Either way I’m sure we’ve all experienced birthdays where we were a little disappointed for one reason or another. Maybe you didn’t get any gifts, maybe you ended up spending the day alone with no one to celebrate with, or maybe you had an awful day at work. Your expectations and hopes were far from being met on “your” day. Are you familiar with what I am talking about?
I realize that often times the older we get the less emphasis we put on our birthday or the less we seem to care that it’s our birthday. Or maybe it’s the responsibilities and disappointments of adulthood that force us into “caring” less.
Maybe this is just me, but honestly I am convinced that we would all enjoy approaching our birthday more like we used to when we were kids. You know, the anticipation that built, that special feeling when you woke up knowing it was “your” day, etc. I mean who doesn’t like a day that is all about them? 😉
So here is my point, no matter where you are on the spectrum of birthday anticipation, I know that we all can still have a reason to get excited about “our” day even if we’re not getting the birthday “experience” we hoped for.
As today is my birthday, I was just pondering the significance of these milestones we celebrate each year, and I realized how cool it really is that this was the day 23 years ago that God decided to bring me into the world. The God of the universe that brought everything into existence decided that February 19th, 1995, just a couple minutes after the clock struck midnight was when He would bring little Amanda Joy Eshenour into the world.
I’ve been thinking, I wonder why it was THAT time, THAT day, THAT year? He could have brought me into a much different set of circumstances or a completely different century, but He chose THAT time, THAT day, and THAT year for a reason. I believe that God is a God of reason and purpose, not chance and happenstance. Thus, I believe that each and everyone of us was born at an exact time, date, and place for a reason. But why?
With every coming year of our lives, God is fulfilling more of His plan and purpose for us. Thus, He knew when and where the puzzle piece of your life would fit perfectly into the puzzle of the world.
In Romans 8:28 it tells us that “…in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Because I have chosen to love the Lord with my whole heart*, I get to have confidence that in whatever happens the rest of my life, He is working for my good.
That is pretty exciting news in itself, but when I put it in perspective with my birthday, I suddenly realize that no matter what emotion is evoked by reflection on the last year of my life, I have a LOT to be excited about the coming year!
It’s like picking up a new or just started journal and flipping through those blank pages that are to come and for a moment imagining what kinds of wonderful insights and experiences are going to fill those pages some day. The possibilities are ENDLESS!!
And no, not all those things are going to be butterflies and rainbows, but even the hard things will bring valuable growth and insight into our lives.
For me personally as I’m thinking ahead to this coming 23rd year of my life, excitement about things I CAN see is building, like continuing to grow closer to my husband in our marriage, the training and work I plan on putting into my horse, Prairie, and the friendships that are going to deepen in my life. But I also am super pumped about all the adventures that I have NO IDEA ARE COMING.
The new relationships that will be started, the exciting challenges that may arise, the goals that I may be able to attain, the ways that I know God will impress on my heart to reach out to others, and the list goes on! Who knows what that list actually contains… God does! And that is enough for me!
It doesn’t matter if you are 21 or 61, God still has you here on this earth for a reason. So whatever year you find yourself in, spend it wisely seeking God.. Then when your next birthday comes around, celebrate and let yourself get excited that God chose to put you on the earth “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)! Know that you are still part of a bigger picture! Then spend some time pondering God’s promise (“that God works for the good of those that love Him”) and letting God build the anticipation and suspense in your heart to see what He has planned for YOUR next year of life!
–Amanda
*I sincerely hope that you too have chosen to give your heart to Lord, but if that is not something you have done, or are unfamiliar with, or simply would like to know more about what I wrote, please contact me. I would LOVE to talk with you. My contact page is there for a reason, my goal is to connect and share with you. 🙂
4 Comments
The lessons never stop, Amanda. I often think it would have help tremendously to have learned that lesson when I was young. But the Lord has our lessons timed, as well as our birthdays. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I echo Mom (Susan)., our lessons are timed out. I am reading, Grace for the Good Girl. It is the lesson I need at the moment and ties in with your post. In a nutshell they encourage you to look below the “mask” of fine. Just because we are “good girls” doesn’t mean everything is always fine. Sometimes we are sad, sometimes disappointed as well as happy and excited. I for one, as a confirmed stuffer of emotions, have a hard time looking below the surface let alone being honest with others. Which brings me to your post, if we/I are not honest with ourselves and others it becomes very hard to look forward. To walk in the confidence of God’s tomorrows for us. We are to busy stuffing!
Hillary, that is a good thought! The correlation between stuffing our emotions and the inability to move forward in life with confidence. That’s something to chew on! Thank you for sharing what you’re learning and how it relates; I really like hearing things like this. 🙂