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I had the most interesting chat with my dentist the other day. This was before he was working on my teeth and things became …… conversationally one-sided :).

I would consider him a very religious person. Although our beliefs differ greatly, I do appreciate his openness and willingness to share. His wife is also my dental hygienist, so there is opportunity for a bit of discussion before they get to work and I am unable to speak :).

For some reason, we were talking about birthdays. For them, a birthday is not a celebration at all. In fact, they will graciously decline all invites to a birthday party! It is a day of acknowledging that another year has passed without having reached the perfected state that is worthy of passing into the next life. It seems kind of morbid, to me — anticipating this death thing so, but also another way of viewing death and life. Like I said. Interesting.

For me, a birthday IS a celebration. It is about reflecting on how faithful and present God has been in the past year, thanking Him for the abundant gifts and relationships He has entrusted to me. To remember the hard hard hard things. To “…. hold fast to that which is good….” (1 Thess. 5:21, KJV). It is about anticipating the good things to come.

I shared this on my Facebook page to celebrate the day.

Thank you so much for the lovely birthday wishes and kind words :). Makes the day (which included a quiet dinner for two and a stroll through a green house :P) that much sweeter!

This year has been full of good things. Some highlights include rediscovering the love of camping (I loved camping before parenting, questioned it when we went camping with babies :P, and am back to loving it again!), selling one home and settling into another, finding new depths in the precious relationships God has blessed me with, and just enjoying this season of life with its challenges (and there have been a few!) and gifts.

The night before my birthday last year, I discovered that I was A WHOLE YEAR YOUNGER THAN I THOUGHT! Such simple surprises don’t happen every year :). To celebrate my 36th birthday I shared 36 things I was grateful for. For my 37th year, this is what came to my heart…..

Beauty in
Everything

Soul care
That
Includes
Learning to
Listen

Anticipaing
New
Dreams

Keeping food and fitness,
Nutrition and balance,
Our priority leads to
Wellness

Though it is
Hard
Always wait in
Trust

Immanuel

Appreciate people
Many beautiful family and frends

Grace abounds
Opens wide the
Doors of love.

Psalm 46:10.

Thank you for making my birthday special.

Life, in all it’s diversity and complexity, is worth celebrating!