Sunday was my birthday. I’ve been loathe to write about it because frankly, I am getting older and though I know it has to happen eventually I’m kind of beating myself up a bit. I’d imagined that by the time I was nearly 40 I’d be a bit more “together” so to speak.
Well, leave it to the Lord to use your children to convict you. The very day that I’m really not pleased with myself my son shares what he had learned from his morning devotion (which of course, I personally had been missing too often).
He read about someone that was contemplating suicide (and NO, that doesn’t describe me) and were on the edge of a building ready to jump. A police officer showed up on the scene and began talking to the jumper and asked them to name something, anything they were thankful for. After naming one thing, the officer had them name another and another until finally they had an entire list of things and circumstances in their life to be thankful for and no longer even knew why they wanted to jump in the first place.
Simple but it really is true, isn’t it? When we have a thankful spirit, it is so hard to become discontent. So, instead of focusing on the things in life that I’m not pleased with- I chose to be thankful on my special day.
So for my birthday I was thankful that my husband and children were there to celebrate with me. I was thankful that I was able to call or receive calls from my parents’ and brothers’ that live hours away. I was thankful that my husband was able to make what turned out to be a very minor repair on my van which allowed us to drive an hour away to spend the day hiking somewhere that I’ve wanted to visit for a year!
Just look at these pictures from our hike at Lake Guntersville State Park, the largest manmade lake in Alabama. I loved walking along the trail enjoying the crisp autumn air lightly scented with pine with the distinct smell of water, letting us know that the lake was near. The gentle breeze against our skin was so refreshing. I’m so thankful it’s October here in Alabama and finally feels like fall, my favorite season.
What a great way to spend a birthday.
This is the day which the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ~ Psalm 118:24
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
