I just celebrated my 30th birthday. For some reason, "big" birthdays like this one cause more reflection than others. People ask you questions like, "What have you learned in 30 years?" I thought this was a question worth answering before the moment passes, my kids wake up and my mind is more in the "now" than in remembering "then."
Memories are wonderful gifts. I love spending time preserving them and cherish the ones passed on to me from my grandparents and parents through the stories that get told over and over at family gatherings, or through pictures and videos. Though I cherish specific stories, I thought it'd be fun to take a snapshot of the past 30 years in phrases like these...
...In the past 30 years I...
was born and gave birth
have been loved and fallen in love
have been cared for by others and cared for others
have been a student and a teacher
have learned more than I could ever teach others
have been a daughter, sister, wife and mother
have felt the sting of sin and the blessing of redemption
have known what it is to be fully satisfied by the love of my Savior
have found contentment and true peace in the arms of my Maker
...Over the next 30 years I want to...
love and be loved
be active in my care for others as the Holy Spirit works in me
become steadfastly committed to my mornings with Jesus
love my God completely
love my husband selflessly
love my kids extravagantly
I don't know what tomorrow, next year or the next decades will bring, but I do now that the moments I live NOW are precious.
I want to be still and see God in the moments he gives me to live.
...Moments like a few I lived TODAY...
cuddling with Cole as he climbed into bed with us this morning
reading the same book to Cora 4 times as she beamed with each word
singing praise to God over dinner as music played in the background
crying with Ryder as he missed Uncle D who left us today after a visit
giving John a kiss as he left for band rehearsal tonight
...and...
listening to the sound of music playing in the kids' rooms as they sleep, while I reflect on a day worth living because it was given to me by the same God who made the stars.
Memories fade, even people we love pass away, but the Spirit of the Living God will never end. This song sums up my deepest heart's desire for the rest of my days on earth...
For those of you thinking that the words of this song sound like a call to abandon those I love in search of a seflish God, please hear me...
I know that as I long for Jesus, people around me will be blessed.
My husband will be loved by a more gracious wife,
My kids will be cared for by a more patient mother,
and people around me will experience more of God and less of me.
There is no greater gift I could give the world, than a life committed to following Jesus.
...All good things come from Him...
The more I long for Jesus, the more of His perfect love I pass on to those around me.
There is no gift in the world greater than this!
Thank you to my family and friends who wrote me beautiful birthday letters...thank you to my incredible husband who found time to compile them in a book for me to keep and read again and again. Thank you to those who sent encouraging cards and beautiful flowers to let me know I was loved this birthday! And, thank you most of all to my God, for the gift of life. Let the next 30 years unfold as they may, as long as I draw closer to Him with each passing day they will be days, years and decades worth living!!!
Oh Danice, my precious daughter.... thank you for sharing all your thoughts. They have blessed my soul more than you can know.....
XOX