Perhaps that is an odd title for a birthday post, but I hope that, by the end of all of this, you will understand why I chose it.
Birthdays are a special time in people’s lives. It’s a date that signifies you have lived and survived through the scribblings of life. Birthdays bring the wonderful satisfaction of another chapter finished, a new one beginning. They give you the opportunity of reading back over the pages written and determining where you want to take your story. When you read back over the ink blots and flourishes, you find tales woven of accomplishments won, trials endured, people encountered, emotions felt, and all of this combined gives you a sense of the story that is being crafted.
As I look back over the years, I’m grateful to see that I’ve learned much, even if the Lord did have to abandon the 2x4 method and go for the iron pole when I wouldn’t learn my lesson the first time. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that birthdays are a reminder of how far I’ve come… and how completely clueless I am when it comes to life. I think I have things figured out, but the Lord always shows me He is too complex for me to put Him, and His creation, in a box. One of the things birthdays remind me of is the fact that although I don’t have all the answers, I do have all the ones I need right now.
I’ve also learned that the Lord writes my story in ink. I can’t go back and erase out the mistakes and the ink blots. However, I can learn from them. I can ask the Lord to grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
When I get to a birthday, I really do like looking back over the past chapters. There always seems to be a prevailing theme written for those who would look hard enough to find it. God doesn’t promise us days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain. What He does promise is strength and grace for the day, not for tomorrow. He gives comfort for when the tears come. When I say “I can’t!”, He reminds me that He can.