47.........

As my Facebook floods my timeline with Happy Birthday greetings, I am humbled knowing that God has put some pretty great people in my life. I have been blessed with a loving family and a multitude of friends who have made my journey much to be grateful for. I truly believe God puts people in our lives for a reason and I hope whatever reason He put me in yours that I live up to His plan for me in your lives. 

As I celebrate my 47th birthday, I can't help but stop and reflect on the past years that have brought me to this moment, all the struggles, the pain, the tears that have shaped me along the way and the victories, strength and laughter that has sustained me through each one. Many of you have been part of those seasons in my life and have played a huge role in helping to shape the person I am today, so as you bid me 'Happy Birthday' let me express my deepest appreciation for your love and friendship along the way and thank God for allowing me to share this journey with such a wonderful group of people.

They say you are only as young as you feel, but I prefer to think that age is but a number and youth springs eternal in our hearts and minds. Yes my body is gradually breaking down and will continue to do so but Proverbs 23:7 says "what a man thinks in his heart, so he is" and in my heart I will always be that kid looking for the next grand adventure and every opportunity to find joy and share joy along the way. 

I don't think there is one key to life, but that life is like a big treasure hunt, with a multitude of keys that we must find along the way to allow us to open the next door in the chapters of our lives. In God's grand design, one thing is constant, life is a process, a series of events that help us to become who we are meant to be. Take a diamond,  even with its many imperfections, it is one of the most desired stones known to man, but like us it doesn't start out as the product so many have come to admire, only through extreme temperatures, pressures and creative design can it become this precious stone. We are that diamond, and even with our many imperfections, God allows just the right amount of pressure to creatively shape us into the people He intends for us to be. When I am faced with trials or pain, I am not happy to be in those places, but I have come to recognize when I feel most broken or incapable of handling a certain situation, it is in those moments that God shapes me. I am a better person because of the storms in my life, not despite them. 

I am 47 today, I don't feel old, or even that half my life is over, I feel excited for the possibilities that lie ahead, and grateful for the people who will share in those adventures yet to come. 

Thank you for your gift of friendship!