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For most of my life, my birthday has involved predictable memories. My childhood celebrations were simple but meaningful, surrounded by family and designed to include my favorite foods (prepared homemade) and gifts that were chosen with love. This pattern continued throughout the time that my husband and I were raising our own family. But somewhere along the way, things changed.
Due to the location of my husband’s work, many years ago we moved away from my extended family. I also don’t live near my own children or grandchildren. I used to have a lot more friends nearby as well, and I was heavily involved in church ministry. But moving from a small town to a big city, and with the onset of aging and the changes that go with that, my life has become much smaller. So when my birthday came around last week, my expectations were also small.
However, along with a smaller life comes a greater appreciation for simpler things. It is easy to look with fondness on the past and be sad about what has changed; but the option is always available to choose to be thankful for what is good about the present. And so my otherwise uneventful birthday turned into a special day just by adjusting my focus.
Here are some of the things that brought me joy that day: flowers from my husband; waking up to a video text of my four grands singing “Happy Birthday” before going to school; numerous messages, texts, and phone calls from friends and family; a beautiful, sunny day with a perfect 75 degree high temperature; a stunning view of mountains, as well as a few fall leaf colors, while driving near my home; my delicious free birthday slice picked up curbside from Cheesecake Factory; and a leisurely “walk” through two photo books with memories of my life from birth until my marriage. And, as a fulltime homemaker, I also enjoyed the absence of any work that day – no laundry, no cooking, and no dishes!
I was reminded that day of the words to one of my favorite contemporary worship songs:
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God.
I am very thankful for the blessing of the childhood family that God placed me in so many years ago, as well as the family he has given to my husband and me. And I am very grateful for the past seasons of my life and the ministry opportunities that God gave me that helped to define who I was and what I did. But I can also recognize the goodness of God in this present season of my life and know that he is continuing to guide me even though “now” doesn’t look like “then”.
And I can’t wait to see what his faithfulness and goodness will bring to me as I continue to follow and trust him for the rest of my life! As long as I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.
