Celebrating Life
Life should not only be lived. It should be celebrated. Our family is BIG on birthdays. We are still here for a reason, so it SHOULD be a BIG DEAL to us! My son, Ryan, got off easy this 55th year. He didn’t get all the “you’re old” jokes like he did on his 50th. My timeline showed up with my blog for his 50th. I laughed when I read his boys’ comments:
“Dad, you might need to get a walker with tennis balls on the bottom.” “Dad, at your age now, you better watch out with all that crying because it’ll be harder to bounce back from all the dehydration.” “Do you need help crossing the road?” “Can you hear me now?” Ryan, a runner, heard this: “At your age, Dad, you gotta’ be careful about hip fractures.”
This year, everyone was tenderhearted and spoke from their heart of gratitude for their dad, husband, and son. It was such a special time of the honoree feeling esteemed, loved, and valued. Sincere, heartfelt words. That’s reason enough for celebrating someone’s birthday.
We often downplay having another birthday. But we shouldn’t. The older we get, the more we should be celebrated. We give a huge birthday party for a one-year-old who won’t even remember his first birthday, but those who have conquered year after year and are still here fighting the good fight of faith are the ones to be celebrated. We EARNED this birthday. We made it another year.
Let’s be clear – it’s not as much about the presents, as it is of the PRESENCE of those who love us and make us feel we are special. Mr. Entertainer, my son, who usually wants a big birthday celebration with many friends involved, this year wanted just us – his immediate family. It was a sweet, intimate time, with lots of laughter and tears.
No matter who you are or whether you had an ideal family life, you always were and always will be a treasure, and on your birthday, you get to rock that truth. Birthdays say, “You’re special!” That’s what we do with the red “special plate” for the birthday guy or girl, and we take turns sharing how special they are to us. Birthdays represent our God-given mission and destiny and every year that we’re here, we get to celebrate our journey.
And with each year we can celebrate — not for just THE day, but EACH day that God gives us. Celebrating it with a merry heart, a glad heart, a thankful heart, a forgiving heart, a heart open to the abundance of God’s love.
I have a friend who doesn’t wait to be celebrated on her birthday. She throws her own birthday bash and invites us to join her on her BIG DAY. I love that. You want friends? Be a friend. You want a party? Throw a party and BE the party!
A birthday isn’t just the day we slid through the birth canal. It is also the day we came into the world and began our lifelong God-given assignment. Every year on that day, we can imagine God and a choir of angels singing: “This is the day. This is the day that the Lord made YOU; that the Lord made you. We will rejoice. We will rejoice and be glad in it!”
Bless birthdays. Whether you or 6 or 26 or 96, we’re celebrating the gift of you to us. You are still bearing fruit. You are still here. You are not done! Happy Birthday to YOU!