Mention the word “birthday” to most people over 30 and you will get a less than enthusiastic response. To them, it signifies getting old, not having met certain goals that they had set, saying a fond farewell to youth, approaching the point of not being able to conceive a child and/or just plain focusing on the fact that the best that life has to offer is already over. But nothing could be further from the truth.
I love birthdays. My birthday is my special day out of the whole year. It reminds me of when I was in school and at the end of the school year, if you did a good job and successfully learned your lessons, you got promoted to the next grade. Well, for me, I look at my birthday as the day that God gives me a promotion to the next year.
I know how much I have learned in the past year. I know the goals that I didn’t meet but I also recognize the reasons that I didn’t meet them and know that there are so many reasons why. It may have been because other pieces of the puzzle were not in place. It may be because the right people were not in place. Or it may have been that the goals that I set were not ones that would have provided me with the best experiences. No matter the reason, I know that everything turned out exactly as was best for me. And I have learned to set my goals without timetables as I do know that all things will happen at exactly the right moment.
On my birthday, I am one day older, not one year older. I may mark the day as my own special anniversary of moving forward but I am so glad to have another day to learn more and to do more with my life. I am excited to have the opportunity to meet new people and see new places and laugh until I cry. I am so grateful that I can celebrate who and what I am with others who accept me for just those reasons and I am so happy for those moments of celebration with those who have helped me to continue to reach for the stars as I continue to pursue my dreams.
So please know that next week when my birthday anniversary arrives, I will celebrate in fine style the completion of another year in which I continued to pursue my dreams. I will celebrate all of the new paths and twists and turns that were presented along the way. I will approach the next day and week and month and year with all of the excitement and anticipation of reaching new heights and learning so much more about everyone and everything. I will celebrate the wonderful people who are in my life and those that are yet to be met. And I will be thankful for all of the gifts that God gives to me each and every year in the relationships that I have and those that are yet to be for the people in my life are the most important aspect of it.
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Barbara Jacoby is an award winning blogger that has contributed her writings to multiple online publications that have touched readers worldwide.