Saturday, September 3, 2011

Happy Birthday to Me!

It is my birthday today. I am 26 years old today. Yikes! When I was young, I never could've imagined myself at 26. But when I'm 40, I'll say that I never could've imagined myself at that age either.
I desperately wanted to move out to Seattle before I turned 26, but oh well. Maybe, hopefully, it'll happen soon! We have been praying non-stop that my husband gets a good job in Washington state so that we can move there without delay. And we've been working on our house like crazy, getting it ready to put on the market soon. Just this morning, we re-painted a wall that had been damaged last month while doing other renovations. It felt great to be so productive and get an important job out of the way! (Now there's only a dozen or so more things to do around the house, then we're all set!)

Isn't it funny how birthdays usually become times of reflection? We think about how we're living our lives. Are we who we want to be? Are our lives going in the right direction? Are we achieving our dreams? Are we using the years we've been given wisely?

And I am not immune to these questions. I've been reflecting on similar thoughts all day today, and really all the time, ever since I began this blog. Because I often discuss "Big Life" ideas on this blog, I think about things like this all the time. There's no reason to be obsessed with self-evaluation, but I think it's healthy & good to re-asses your life every once in awhile. If you like what you see, then great! Stay on that path! But if not, it's not too late! Make changes! Turn around and go in the other direction! Do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams and live the life you desire. And most importantly, ask God to give you dreams and His path to follow. I promise you, you won't be disappointed in yourself, or Him.

I know that God has never disappointed me, not in all my 26 years of life. He may make things turn out differently than I'd imagined or planned, but it's always better. God is in the business of "bettering" us, and He uses all types of methods, circumstances, & people to achieve this purpose.

I heard someone say once that "God loves us exactly as we are, but refuses to leave us that way." What a beautiful concept! I certainly feel that God accepts me this way, but refuses to let me remain as I am now. He always wants more for me. A better heart, a better life, a better relationship with Him. God has already done so much inside me, but I look excitedly towards the future, and wonder what kind of adventure God has in store for me in my next 26 years.

5 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday! I came across your blog through you following mine!

    I feel exactly the same way! I can't believe I turn 25 this year! I used to write letters to myself to my next birthday about the things I hope that I have achieved (don't do that as much any more) and so every birthday I havea time of reflection. For me? Definitely though I'd be a published author by now. But, I have graduated from college, which is what I did want to achieve by now.

    But no matter what you are hoping you have already acheived, it's so important to keep learning along the way! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathy & Nicole: Thank you very much for the b-day wishes! I had a great 26th birthday! Family, good food, good times, great weather.....can't ask for much more than that!
    Nicole: It's so cool that you are a young writer like me. I've always had the life dream of being a published author someday. Congrats on graduating from college--that's a huge step in the right direction! I too graduated from college (4 yrs ago already--Yikes!), and even though I do not work outside the home and thus do not "use" my degree, the time I spent in college is invaluable and I'm so glad I went. I grew & matured so much during those 4 yrs and became the woman I am today. If I hadn't gone I never would've had the valuable experiences I had. I'm so grateful for that time.
    I love your idea about writing letters to yourself every year. A year sometimes doesn't seem like that long of period of time to do anything very important, but on the other hand, it is! A year really is a long time if you think about it. I think you're on the right track!
    Thank you both for commenting and reading my blog. I appreciate it a lot! Please pass my blogs along to anyone you think would like to read.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hope you had a good birthday, and yes, the best is yet to come:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Toyin,
    thank you for your lovely comment & reassurance :)

    ReplyDelete