My Birthday Wish

One of the realities of growing older is how differently we look at birthdays. As a child, you look forward to being able to add just one more number to your life. Who can forget what it was like to become a teenager, or better yet that day you turned sixteen and could finally get your license. Me, I made the trip to the courthouse to take my driver’s test on my birthday, there was no way I was going to wait for that.

For a good number of years each birthday represented a milestone, and then something changed. I cannot tell you exactly when it happened, but now birthdays seem more about reflection than anticipation. Each year now becomes another opportunity to look back at what is and what could have been. How many decisions have I made that were the right one, and how many chances were missed because of wanting to do it “my way”, or how many bridges have I burned that can never be crossed again?

On this journey, that God has given us the privilege to be on called life, we only get a few days, and you only have to look at the obituary page to see just how short life really is. Every day when I pick up the paper, I seem to know more of those names contained therein than I ever have. I am greatly saddened by the numbers of family and friends I once knew, who are no longer with us, each year the number of those gets greater, and I have to wonder sometimes just why does one get taken and others, including myself, remain.

While my life has never been one of privilege, it has definitely been one of opportunities. Some realized and a lot that I have missed. However, each day that we open our eyes we should count as a blessing, and maybe if we try a little harder we can get just one more chance to right the wrongs in our lives. There is no doubt that I need to be more forgiving, but even more important is the fact that I need to spend more time asking for forgiveness from those I have wronged, whether intentional or not.

Today I am more thankful than I have ever been, not only for God’s blessings in my life, but just for the very breath in my lungs. May I never take for granted this gift we call life. Also, on this day that I acknowledge the passing of another year and thank God for the beginning of one more, I just want to say thanks to all of those who have somehow touched my life for the better.

My goal for this next year is to work a little harder at being honorable at all times, first with God, and then with my family and all of those who I come in contact with on a daily basis. May something that I say and do make a difference in somebody else’s life, just like mine has been so impacted by those, whether living or not, who have touched my very existence. My birthday wish is that we all take a little more time to pray for one another and do all we can to be a greater blessing at home and in our community. God bless us everyone!