This Day I Choose

Well, it's that time of year again. The one where if you're 1 you have no idea what is going on, but you know that bright shiny paper on top of the huge box is real fun to play with. Everyone around you seems to be quite excited about what's inside the box, but it makes too much noise, and all you want to do is sit quietly and chew on a sock. If you're 13 you're excited because it's your very first girl & boy party and you feel so very grownup now that you're an official teenager. There are more milestone birthdays, such as 16, 18, 21, each of them looked forward to with great anticipation.

Then there are the decade-birthdays. The 30, the 40, the 50. Thankfully I've only seen one of those so far! Last night I logged on to Facebook and took my birth year off my timeline. I decided I didn't want people knowing how old I really was, even though I've been told I look about 8 years younger. My dear little brother, during prayer at breakfast this morning, happily told God, "and thank you for Maria's ____ years!" I groaned inwardly. "Thanks for the reminder!"

What are birthdays, anyway? A celebration of life, a chance to eat cake and open up presents, time to spend with family and friends, a marker of another year gone by. I woke up this morning and felt like I did on my 30th birthday, not too thrilled about it all, concerned that time had switched from robin wings to eagle wings and was taking me far too fast into my future.

As I took some time to contemplate what my goals and aspirations are for this year, I also thought about the gift of life. Of safety, of family, of love, of joy, of peace, and of friends. I thought about God's gifts of mercy, patience, compassion, grace, longsuffering, forgiveness, and kindness. I realized that I was being ungrateful as I lamented my state of years.

A birthday signals so much more than a year gone by. It means I have been blessed with amazing gifts that cannot be wrapped up or quantified. 

• Experience
• Memories
• Life
• Wisdom (more, not all!)

As I enter this new year of life, I shall resolve to choose joy and happiness every moment I consciously am able to. To learn to lean on God for guidance in the challenges I face. To always see the best in others and seek to affirm their strengths. To set my aims high and then work towards meeting them. To embrace change even when it causes uncertainty. To live every experience to its fullest, storing up memories of life. 

". . .blessed are all those who wait for Him." ~Isaiah 30:18b