Birthdays, Ready or Not Here They Come

James 4:14 (NIV)

Why, you do not even know what will happ.en tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Today is the anniversary of the day I made my arrival on this earth, my birthday. It got me thinking about birthdays and how we look at them.

“Ready or not, here they come.” But that is not how everyone looks at a birthday. For some a birthday is a joyous event, especially for the young. Birthdays mean presents and being the center of attention. Birthdays mean surprises and all the cake and ice cream we can eat.

Then the double digit years come. “I’ll be ten.” Then the seeming long wait to become a … TEENAGER. Then the miserable long wait until we can drive a car. (We already know how to drive our brothers and sisters and parents and teachers crazy.)

From 16 to 21 everything seems a daze. Then one day, either after high school or after college we have that final “fun” birthday and have to act our age. We have to work like an adult. We have responsibilities.

Then comes those plateau years; 30, 40, 50, 60. They come too fast. Some welcome them with tears. Others by having a second childhood. Others by having a mid-life crises.

And throughout it all, “Ready or not, here they come.” Birthdays don’t slow down, they speed up. Then one day we wake up and say, “Where has my life gone?”

As I celebrate today I want to make sure that my life is one that brings honor to God in everything I say and do. I don’t want to ever ask “Where has my life gone?” I want to have no regrets because of the things I have done or haven’t done. Make it your goal today to make the most of the time God gives you.

Dear Lord, we thank You for the life You give us.  We thank for each opportunity we have before us. We pray that we will make the most of each one. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.