I had a birthday this week.
I turned an age that puts me closer to 40 and I have mixed feelings about that. Every year, I tell myself (and everyone else) that it's not a big deal, this birthday one week before Christmas.
It's not really something special or celebratory, but there's this tiny piece inside of me that secretly hopes a little bit of that childhood birthday magic settles on my shoulders for just a few hours on December 18th.
But when you're a grown-up, let's face it, birthdays are just like every other day...you still have responsibilities, after all, and you ask for things like flooring--practical presents that are definitely cause for excitement, but about as far from the pile of gifts that used to grace the end of my birthday bed as you can get.
And the closer I get to 40, the more comfortable I get in my own skin. I find myself worrying less about things like bags under my eyes or the number on the scale. I start thinking more about this life and the legacy I want to leave...what am I doing here...and what do I want to be doing here...?
And I think it can all be summed up in two words:
I spent some time creating last weekend, and I wanted to do something simple...a reminder to myself to keep going on my Big Dream List. One of those big dreams came true about two weeks ago (I can't really talk about it yet) and it floored me. It was like God was saying, "yeah, I was there when you wrote that down."
And I was thinking, "Huh. How 'bout that?"
I've learned a few things on the way to 37.
Like...
1. A bad day can be instantly made better by a dance break. (I recommend this song. Try not to at least chair dance. I dare you.)
2. Coffee is one of life's greatest pleasures.
3. Nothing is more important than your family. Sometimes you have to take a look at what you're doing and how it affects them...if it's not good, change is in order.
Photo by LyndseyLew Photography
4. You can't be good at everything.
5. Most of all, if your dreams don't scare you, then they're not big enough. I had to readjust some of my big dreaming accordingly and I can tell you I'm now properly afraid.
But I feel pretty confident that God's got my back...even when it doesn't look like I think it should.
Funny how that works, huh?
