Honoring Your Birthday & Embracing Your Present
Does your birthday bring about depression, anxiety, and disappointment? What if I told you that your birthday is the most precious gift that you can experience no matter what is going on around you? Honor your day of birth and embrace your present!
I am 39 years old as of 3 days ago. For some, even allowing others to know how old you are has become difficult to share. Where did that come from? That notion that it is rude for a woman to reveal her age?
Who planted that seed of shame?
I was never the one that was shy for someone to know my age. Me aging only became a problem before I was married because of the goals I wanted to accomplish. Aging was as a hour glass with the sand that quickly drained into the other end. I vowed to be married with children before 30 with a thriving career. As those years started to go by it caused a fear of panic, anxiety, and disappointment. I then rushed and settled in marriage because I was trying to beat my own clock. But, what about God's clock?
Let us fast forward 8 years later, 1 divorce, and many heartbreaks later. I am 39 and the happiest that I have ever been, even during a pandemic! I am not in my desired career, I have no children, not married, not even an engagement, date, or DM in sight! The weight that i declared to lose still hasn't magically fallen off in between desserts, pizza's, and french fries. As a matter of fact this is the absolute most I have ever weighed in my life! I was afraid to take birthday pictures out of fear of seeing the weight on me and not seeing myself as beautiful. Something changed. I saw the pictures and fell absolutely in love with them! I looked at myself and thought I was the most beautiful that I have ever been. In my mind i admired the smile, the glow, and the happiness that exuded from the photos. I was embracing all of my juicy-nest! I was seeing myself for the first time how God saw me. I then realized His plans for me drastically was in contrast to what I had in mind.
I am explaining and sharing all of this because I believe a lot of us, men and women feel that every year that goals, dreams, and aspirations have not been achieved that we are a failure. Every year that we age and the closer we get to what we deem as "old" can be a constant reminder of that.
The problem is not the fact that we are aging but our way of thinking and the comparison that goes on with what others accomplish in their age range. I can't help but think of Sarah in the Bible when God told her that she will conceive a son.
Where is Sarah, your wife?" the visitors asked. "She's inside the tent," Abraham replied. Then one of them said, "I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!" Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, "How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master-my husband-is also so old? - Genesis 18:9-12
Sarah's age was never the problem it was her expectations of when she should conceive that deemed her age an insurmountable hurdle and burden. But as the scripture goes on to say, Genesis 18: 4:
"Is anything too hard for the Lord ? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."
So you see, we make aging and our birthdays complicated. I challenge those that are reading this to honor the day that you were born and embrace your present! Each year is special when we stop putting limitations and mandates on them. Just the fact that God has given you life should be worth all the celebration. I know we all may say that " I thank God for life", but do we truly mean it in our hearts? Or is it just lip service? Embrace your present! No matter what it looks like! If God has promised you something, get joy out of the fact that something great is coming! This year I embraced and truly felt joy like no other for my birthday. I ate with my family and enjoyed a small bonfire at my home, basking in the love from my family and the promises made by my Father in heaven. If you are alive to see whatever age you become, honor it. It was ordained for such a time as this and embrace your situation because everything will work together for those that love the Lord.
