Poco Mountain Girl

It’s funny how when you are a kid, your birthday is all about the day: the cake, the fun activities, the balloons and streamers – and oh those presents. Then you hit 16, 18 and 21, and it’s all about your age – you’ve been around a while and you’re entitled to certain things now. You also feel you’ve accumulated some smarts (few as they may be) and you’re proud of that.

But then you get older, let’s just say…older than 35. It’s not really about the day or the accumulation of loot anymore, nor is it about those sweet digits on your ID. Suddenly it’s about your whole life – the years that have gone by so quickly and the ones you think you might have left.

Today on my birthday I did think about the day – it was cloudy and cool, and the wildflowers were all closed up; not like yesterday when their sweet faces were wide open to the sun. I even briefly thought about the number: but being 36 is not terribly significant, except maybe that it is a year beyond what is considered mid-life.

More than those things though, I thought about my life as a whole – the past, the present, the future. And yes, it’s going by so fast, but it’s so darn sweet. Even through the challenges where I’ve been sick or the emotional stuff where I thought I’d break in half if I cried any harder, through the things I’ve regretted or when I’ve just been plain stupid, still I’ve lived. I’m incredibly thankful for this life, and I have lived it fully every single day. Never have I been tested or tried above what I can handle, and I have always been rescued even when I felt hopeless. I’ve been forgiven for the things I’ve failed in, and given more chances to succeed.

And though I feel the reality of standing alone today, of taking account of my life that has gone by and considering the eternity before me, yet again I think of the people I’ve been given to share my life with. My parents who built my foundation with so much care; my little girl whose laughter lights up my life; my strong husband who loves me so well; my friend Darci whose listening ear is priceless to me. Life has been so much richer because of these and so many others.

Above all that, I have a God who loves me, whose faithfulness is as strong and steady as those mountains out my door. For that I’m most thankful…on my birthday and every plain old day!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 at 10:26 pm and is filed under Celebrating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.