Birthday Blog

Today marks another birthday.  I am not complaining, but they are piling up.  They are piling up to the point that there is more to remember in the past than there is to dream about for the future.  When I was a young man the years seemed like an inexhaustible resource, but now they are counted with much gratitude and hope that there are still some more to come.  Being seventy-three provides a different perspective than the one possessed by the young man I once knew to be me.     

Whenever a birthday comes, it always is a moment to pause and remember some of the ones who started the journey with me, but who were not blessed with the years that I have known.  I remember a high school friend who died when he was only thirty-three and after him there have been more who have come and gone leaving me still here.  To be honest I sometimes wonder why.  It is something I have never really answered, but asking is a reminder that even on the days which are filled with storm clouds, there is reason for gratefulness.   

My father never lived long enough to see children grown.  I have.  I have been blessed with over 50 years of marriage and five grandchildren.  There is still meaningful work to do.  God continues to be ever present in all that I do even though such a gift of presence is both the least deserved gift and the most treasured one of them all.  As I count another birthday come and gone, I am mostly grateful.   I am grateful for those who have shared it with me and for the Christ who called me to come along for the journey that will finally take me home.