Day 22, August 30, 2011
This day, 29 years ago, I was born in Cookeville Tennessee. A birthday is a lot like New Years Eve for me except instead of a year-end review it is a life review. On my birthday, I take a review of my life. I take a look at what I have accomplished, what I still want to accomplish, how many people I have in my life who are important to me, and if I am in a better place this year than last. Sometimes my birthdays have been quite depressing and others wonderfully uplifting.
This year I turned twenty-nine and I think the reality that I am only one year away from thirty really took it’s toll. There is something about changing decades that is sobering in all stages of life. Thirty, for me, is that transition from being a young adult to just an adult. It makes this year feel all the more important because it will be the last one I have in my twenties.
I know many of you out there who are older and wiser than me know that the transition to thirty is not that big a deal and I am sure I will one day agree but today I plot what I want to accomplish by thirty. In order to know what I want to accomplish this year, I have to look back and see where I am today. I have come so far in my life and am so blessed to have a wife who loves me, a house, a job I love, a ministry position at my church, friends and family who love and support me, and the best friend a guy could ever have. As I take stock in the things I still want to accomplish, Some things I think of are: to write a song worth recording, to write a book worth reading, to become a paid minister, to grow a garden with enough produce to last the winter, and to do something truly extraordinary for Christ’s kingdom.
In the past year I have met and had the privilege of getting to know some wonderful people who have blessed and enriched my life. I have discovered who my true friends are through their desires to continue a relationship whether we are in direct contact all the time or not. My life has been one of many geographic transitions and throughout those many moves I have watched hundreds of people drop out of my life forever. Some of those people were people that I dearly loved and others were just acquaintances.
I do not expect people to stay in my life when I am no longer in close proximity to their lives be it through work, church, programs, activities, or otherwise because of the many people who have disappeared in the past. This model has not held true in the past year though. To my delight, people from jobs I used to work and churches I used to attend have kept up contact with me. It is so foreign and yet delightful to have friends that don’t just disappear as life changes.
My wife and I went out for a birthday dinner tonight and I invited a special group of friends from the church we used to attend and they all came to celebrate my birthday. It was such a blessing to have them all around me and to know I was loved no matter what church I attended or where I was in my life. Last year I worked for the census bureau and met many wonderful people. They too have kept up contact lunch invitations and facebook chats. I also have rekindled contact with some friends who were dear to me when I was younger, which helped me to see that sometimes friendships do continue to matter. I have been more connected with past friends this year than ever before.
The greatest example to me of love despite location has been my best friend who has kept constant contact with me despite being across the world in Spain. He has been such a blessing to me in my walk, my day to day, and as an encourager and prayer warrior when I struggle. I have complete confidence that he is there for me when I need him. I have also learned the joy of caring for his daily struggles, joys, and accomplishments. He had a baby girl last Christmas and I even think and pray about her each day. You see my friend, his wife, and their child are like my blood family. They mean a great deal to me and I am thankful for the blessing of our Lord introducing them to me.
We have a great God who blesses us each day. He is constantly teaching and growing us. He is working to continually make us more like himself and surrounding us with those who will uplift and encourage us in our walks. As I get older, I know the Lord will continue to shape and prepare me for each stage of life I am about to enter. All in all I am blessed by the many people in my life who love me and whom I love also. I am thankful for each of them and proud to know them. The great outpouring of well wishes on facebook alone was a great example of the blessed life the Lord has given me. I praise Him and thank him that he gave me this day and I look forward to all He is going to accomplish through me in the next year!
Blessings,
Greg
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