Thankful for Birthdays

I love birthdays – especially mine! It’s awesome to have a day set aside to celebrate your life, and it’s a great time to reflect on the struggles and blessings of the past year and the dreams you have for the next one. So, on the eve of my birthday, I’m taking some time to reflect and to give thanks.

I’m thankful for health. I’ve battled some pretty severe illness over the past few years, so I’ve learned not to take my health for granted.

I’m thankful for my family. I have two beautiful daughters who are smart and sweet and loving – at least most of the time. There have been some challenges as they’ve moved into new seasons of their lives, but there have been joys as well. I love watching them as they grow and learn, and I pray that I will do the right things to help guide them into their teen years and on into adulthood. I’m sometimes sad for me as I see their little girl years flying by, but excited for them as they experience all of the new and wonderful things each age has to offer.

I’m blessed to have the most wonderful husband on the planet. He is so supportive and encouraging. He never complains when the house isn’t quite clean or the laundry isn’t done or we have spaghetti – again – because I forgot to plan ahead for our evening meal. He loves me even when I’m grumpy, which is more often than I’d like to admit. I don’t know what I’d do without him, and I’m so thankful that God put him into my life.

I’m thankful for my job – No, really! Those who know me well know that I sometimes have to remind myself of this one. I had never planned to be a working mother, much less a working mother with a high-profile, high-stress job at a software company. But, I do enjoy my work, and I have an extremely flexible schedule that helps me to balance my work life with my family life. And, I work at one of the most stable companies in the area, so despite the crazy economic times that we live in, I feel secure in my job at a time when many people don’t.

And, when I think about the next year, I’m expectant. I feel like I’m moving into a new season of my life. I’m not quite sure what that season holds or where it will take me, but I’m excited about it. So, it doesn’t really concern me that there’s one more candle on my cake. It just reminds me that I have another new beginning and a chance to grab hold of all that God has in store for me in the coming year.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11