Celebrating my 53 Birthday

Philippians 3:13 (NIV)

 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

Another rotation around the Sun.

As I get older, I am beginning to notice all of the things everyone warned me about.  Like crow’s feet, grey hair, creaky bones, and a spare tire….

As I was reading some random facts I got an answer to why I feel tired so much of the time. You may be interested in this fact also. The Earth travels around the Sun each year 584,020,178 miles. That’s a lot of traveling! It gets even more obvious why I am so tired when you multiply that by the number of trips I have taken around the Sun, 53 times. That comes out to 30,160,000,000 miles. Now it starts to make since why I am so tired.

So, although I am not so excited about my body getting older, I DO WANT my spirit to mature… I want to grow in my relationship with the Lord.  I want to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a (woman), I put childish ways behind me.  Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part;  then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.-1Corinthians 13:11-12

I don’t want to stay the same!  I want God to continue to grow me and change me and mold me.  I don’t want to make the same mistakes year after year, but I want to learn from them and overcome them.  I know God is doing a new thing in me each year.  I don’t want to look over my shoulder, lamenting about the past and the mistakes I’ve made.  Instead, I want to look forward to what God is doing in me and through me TODAY.  This year, I want to take the wisdom God has given me and make the right choices.  I want to put away my “childish” ways, my immature, selfish ways.

Forgetting what is behind and straining what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…

Dear Lord, thank You for creating me and blessing me with an incredible life with a wonderful wife and amazing kids.  I am blessed beyond measure!  Thank You, God for birthdays.  I pray that this year I continue to grow and mature spiritually.  I do not want to be the same this time next year.  I give this year to You.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.