Birthdays

I love August because it’s birthday time around our house.  Brian and I both celebrate our birthdays at the beginning of August.  It seems Brian could not care less about his birthday, but not me.  I LOVE birthdays!  I love the hoopla with family, the balloons, the cake, the bright napkins... I love all of it. 

One would think that the older one gets the less likely they are to want to celebrate their many, many years on earth.  Not me.  I realize I am getting older, but aren’t we all?  I figure it’s better to worry about the impact we can have on the world around us rather than the new gray hairs or the obviously deeper laugh lines. 

I was reading 1 Samuel 7:1-17  and it struck me, in the context of birthdays and growing older, that Samuel served God all his life. He was dedicated to serving God from a very young age and continued to serve God all his life.  For Samuel, serving God was a life long task.  

The same could be true for us. 

It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, whether you are celebrating your 4th birthday or your 84th, God created you and God can use you.  I believe that God has blessed you with incredible gifts and skills and when you use those gifts to His glory you can have a powerful impact on the people in your midst.  

Have you ever noticed that we can see the character of God when watching little Ellie dance in the aisle during the praise songs at church?  In the same way we can witness the character of God by listening to Ted share his wisdom and stories about his well-worn Bible. God reveals His character and He can use us at any age to do it.

So let’s celebrate birthdays!  Sure, birthdays signify the passage of time but they can also signify another year of serving and loving God -- another year of being a witness to Christ in the world.