Another year.
Birthdays come and go. We remember those that at the time have tremendous meaning – the first one of course, turning double digits (10), the sweet 16, adulthood (21), 30!!, becoming 1/2 a century (50), and so on.
Today I am 52 years old. I could just as easily tell you I am 20, and other days I could tell you I am 100. Like most of you, life has been really good to me, and it has also nearly destroyed me.
The greatest words I can tell you today, at 52 years of age, is God has always been with me. There has never been a point in my life when He wasn’t with me. Through it all, I can look back and see Him. I owe that to my parents and my grandmother, Mama Dolly; and to people who have had significant influence my life – Ann Reese, Howard Lovett, Bo Whaley, Sara Ann Rigdon Fraser, Jim Rush, Laurie Vinson Fason, Ann Roberts, Cheryl Wood, and Rolando Almazan, just to name a few.
Birthdays are God’s way of saying, “I’m not done with you – not yet. Your purpose is yet to be fulfilled and I want you to cross the finish line strong.”
The journey of this life is not about my story or yours. I used to say, “I’m starting a new chapter in my life!” I don’t think that way anymore. The journey of this life is in the role we play in God’s story. He’s writing the book, and it’s a much bigger picture than we can grasp. We are only participating as we choose. God doesn’t force anyone to be a part of His story; He simply waits for us to decide it is a book we don’t want to miss out on.
For those of you out there who don’t know God, or doubt His truths, or simply are wondering – you may not believe in Jesus Christ, but He believes in you. The empty, incompleteness you feel, is the absence of Him. Despite all the hardship, the trials, the sadness, the pain, I’ve never felt alone – that in and of itself, is worth every moment of heartache.
Today is my birthday. I’m looking forward to how God will use me this year for His glory and benefit. I’m looking forward to another year with the people I love and cherish. I’m looking forward to the potential of healing relationships, creating others, and investing in people I know and do not know. I’m looking forward to playing my role to the best of my ability in His Story…
“…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” – James 12:2.
