This month was the infamous Birthday Month! What is that all about, anyway?
It’s about taking the past year of your life and recognizing that you have made it another year. It’s about a fresh start and a new chapter. It’s a moment to pause, look back, and decide where you are going next. It’s about sharing your life with the special people chosen to be in yours. It’s about learning from what went wrong, what went right, and what you want to do next. Life is a blessing and the best gift you will receive. And you should celebrate all month long.
Although this year has been very different, I’ve learned that the worst parts of our lives may be the gateways to the best pieces we would never want to do without. That hardship can happen not because of what you’ve done, but because of something God wants to do in your life. My faith allows me to know that what I see is not all there is, and that brings me peace. So, for me, this birthday occasion represents a fresh start in more ways than one, which is exciting and scary at the same time. Everyone is always too thrilled to share their perfectly portrayed lives when things are going great. But I realized a long time ago that when we aren’t real, and we aren’t honest about the messiness of our lives, the suffering people begin to feel less than. And I want those suffering to see that you can rise despite your situation and find joy and gratitude in what’s left. Just because your prayers were not answered in the way you prayed doesn’t mean it’s the end of your story. So, in this next year, as long as I’m able, I will be as honest as I can because in between the good are some tough things, and we should all want to share that so that maybe just maybe, someone can feel better or at least not alone in their mess.
This month I have also taken the time to see the people in my life this past year. Who are they? Did they deserve to be there? Did I deserve to have them in my life? Will we move into this next year together? I know God puts people in our life who are supposed to be there, and we certainly have the free will to pick for ourselves whom we want in our lives and whom we don’t. I’m pretty sure the latter is where we screw it all up. We don’t recognize the difference between those God places in our lives and those we seek for our gratification. I have always naturally sought God’s reasons for some people coming into my life. And it is so fun when I see so clearly why, maybe not immediately, but over time. Often, God blesses me with a clear pathway to that person because they are meant to be on this journey with me at that exact moment. I have certainly felt that this year. In both the friendships that brought me happiness, the ones that brought me sorrow, and the ones that brought me both joy and sorrow. It can also be said that he is placing you in someone’s life for a purpose; those can be the tough ones to understand in which you are a part of the lessons that person needs to learn to move forward in their journey. But it is our faith in his plan that can carry us forward, and it is also our faith in his plan that will allow us to let go.
As I wrap up this Birthday Month today, I know that every breath we take is precious, and every relationship we get to have is a gift. Our success and trials are meant to be shared, so here’s to another year in the books, and let’s begin again a little wiser, with a lot more faith, accept those who are meant to be in our lives, and let go of those who are not.
Whenever it’s your time, I wish you the most amazing Birthday Month and implore you to discover what that year has taught you.
Xo
Kim
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