Of no matter, I love celebrating birthdays!
A couple of weeks ago we celebrated birthday. I spent the weekend away from the hospital-- with Kip, my brother Joel, and my parents who came to town for the weekend. Kip took me out for a doughnuts-and-coffee-breakfast at Nord's (best doughnuts in the world except for my grandpa's). I then made this chocolate cake. (Delicious and uncomplicated!) We had a Parks and Recreation marathon and took the dogs for a walk. Once my parents made it in from Ohio we enjoyed a late night Italian dinner at Buca di Beppo. By the time we were home from dinner to open cards and gifts it was nearly midnight, I had the "P.M. Jollies", and we laughed about silly things until I cried. As the icing on the cake, one of my very best friends had her baby boy on this day, and my heart completely exploded.
We spent the remainder of the weekend together, mostly laughing and thrift shopping. Enjoying the simple grace of a Sunday lunch, lingering around the table and taking time to listen more and rush less. Reminiscing. Sharing leftover cake. Dogs lying at our feet, in no hurry either.
It was a weekend full of very simple things, yet it was wonderful. Meaningful. Memorable. Why?
It wasn't the high-calorie splurges, facebook posts, or gifts. It was togetherness, love, laughter... the graces of God highlighted in every scene. It got me thinking about birthdays... how they are always good days because you decide they should be. A special day to celebrate life. Spiritually speaking, we can celebrate this every day.
God has been so good to create us all : purposefully, specifically, creatively, uniquely, exactly as He intended. He has given us SO much, not because we are great and worthy, but because He is. There is no one who loves and gives and serves like the Lord Jesus.
So, I want to love every day like it's my birthday. As children of God, this is the joy of Christ available to us. We are always chosen, beloved, blessed, safe, secure, and loved. We can celebrate every day like we matter, because we do. And those around us do too. What if I approached every day with significance, importance, humility, thanksgiving? What if I treated everyone in a way that made them feel special, reminding them they are precious?
In the mundane times,
in the grandiose moments,
in those freeze-frame still life pauses where everything feels perfect and you just want to remember it forever,
In the painful and confusing,
in the moments where I fail and I know it...
I just want to learn to love each day. It is all grace. It is all good in the hand of a good and faithful God. Let's celebrate life!
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| breakfast : unashamedly eating several donuts with our coffee |
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| Late night dinner between two of my faves |
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| Sitting around the lunch table = the best |
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| Thankful to be their daughter |
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