“Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1 NIV

Ever since I hit thirty, I need to stop and remember how old I am. With a birthday this past week (39 years old. . . I think), I paused to reflect on my view of birthdays.

As an adult, my birthday hasn’t been my favorite thing. What’s to celebrate? My mom’s the one who should be celebrated, especially after enduring hundreds of hours of painful labor – of which I am reminded annually.

Maybe my opinion of birthdays stems from a few years of odd birthdays: a family funeral, preparing for Covid lock-down, and social distancing outside. Those don’t feel like reasons to celebrate.

But last year my view of birthdays changed.

Someone near and dear to my family took his own life a few days before my birthday.

And as we mourned, I couldn’t help but think about my approaching birthday and wonder, “What’s there to celebrate?”

Life. I chose to celebrate life.

And one year later, I’m choosing to celebrate God’s faithfulness in my life.

Scripture reveals truths about God stemming from His faithfulness:

• God has chosen me (Isaiah 49:7)
• He has called me (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
• He will protect me (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
• He is my hope (Hebrews 10:23)

Scripture also reveals that God’s love for me will never cease, even as the years of my life go by:

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.” Psalm 138:8a ESV

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

So this year my birthday was not a celebration of anything I’ve done, but rather a celebration of everything God has done.

Here’s to another year of basking in God’s love and faithfulness.

Check out this song: “Goodness of God”

How do you see the evidence of God’s faithfulness in your life? How does this evidence impact your view of birthdays?

“Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1 NIV