I celebrated a birthday this week. And the older I get, the less exciting birthdays are. However, I always enjoy the special time with friends, as well as encouraging notes, cards, texts, emails, and phone calls. I am thankful for the friends and family God has blessed me with.
Each year on my birthday, I like to sit down and reflect on the past year. Not so much on the physical changes in my life, but on the spiritual changes. As I reflected on that this birthday, I jotted down some thoughts.
- He has a purpose for me. I don’t want to neglect it.
- He has given me gifts. I don’t want to ignore them or waste them.
- He has put people in my life in this season for a purpose. I want to fully embrace them.
- He loves me even when I’m not lovable. I want to thank Him for loving me unconditionally.
In addition to jotting down some thoughts, I like to ponder these questions each year:
- How has my love for God grown deeper in the past twelve months?
- How has He worked in my life this past year?
- What am I thankful for this past year?
- What challenges has He put in my path? How did I handle them?
I’d like to think that every year I celebrate a birthday I’m a little wiser than the year before. However, I find I still make mistakes and sometimes question decisions I’ve made. But I am encouraged by the fact that God is still working on me and in me and will continue to do so until the day He takes me home.
Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6 are a great encouragement to me on this birthday (and every day): “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
