I’d like for us to think about something a little different today. As a child birthdays were not something we celebrated in my home, as a matter of fact when I dig into my memory the earliest thought that comes to me is when I turned 18 and had my first “surprise” party….rolling forward several years as I got older birthdays meant going to the clubs and partying with people I barely knew….but honestly, it wasn’t about the birthday it was just about partying.

Because I chose that path, for as long as I can remember my entire adult life I believed that I would die by the time I was 30 years old, the life I lived was brought on by my dysfunction, losses experienced, hurts, and depression. Believing I would die at the age of 30 was not at all the way I imagined it…When I died it was not a natural death but a spiritual one instead.

You see, my life was filled with much darkness and what felt like no hope….however, opening my eyes to the light was a new journey in which I was not at all familiar with….As I began to grow and have more birthdays it became aware to me that birthdays were meant to be celebrated…as I began to rethink what I had always believed, that birthdays were just another day, they weren’t really that big of a deal, I had to look back into why I believed that way because the Bible teaches us in Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (I encourage you to look it up, there’s more that goes with it).

So, as I began renewing and learning new things I discovered in my journey that birthdays meant something to me….There were a lot of birthdays I just gave away, whether it was from my pride, from emotional disappointment, or simply because of what I believed.

Now, I’m not looking for anyone to go above and beyond for me on my birthday, but will gladly accept it (just kidding 😊), but what I do want to encourage you in this day, is to enjoy your birthday, celebrate it with friends, be proud of it…your life is worth celebrating, don’t let the patterns of your past, people, or the things of this world convince you your not worth it, because you are!