Birthday blog for 2016

My birthday isn't officially until next week (the 29th) but I thought I'd publish my thoughts about it now anyway.  Candidly, over the years, these birthday blogs have always been awkward for me to write.  What are you supposed to say for your own birthday?  There have been times when I wanted to just skip my birthday blog altogether.  This year is different.  This year I have plenty to write about.  In fact, this time, I’m going to be tackling several different subject matters that are on my heart.

I’ll begin by addressing the elephant in the room.  This is a very different birthday because this is the first birthday without my dad.  For my whole life one of the things that I could always count on was a birthday celebration with my parents.  Now, once again, I see the empty chair and remember the loss.  One thing that comforts me is to know that God fathers the fatherless.  Recently, my mom and I were encouraged by this beautiful verse from the Bible.  Psalm 68:5 reads, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.”  I can vouch for the truthfulness of this verse!

Another thought I have is the fragile nature of life.  Back in November, at a family Thanksgiving get-together, we went around the table and articulated something that we were thankful for.  I stated that I was thankful for life, and that my heart was still beating.  I knew it before, but this year has made it painfully obvious to me that life is a fragile gift that should not be taken for granted.

Unfortunately, one does not have to look too long and hard for recent examples of this fact.  49 people in Orlando were brutally slain by an evil gunman; or consider this: Anton Yelchin, a 27-year-old actor, passed away after getting pinned underneath his own car; Lane Graves, a 2-year-old boy, was snatched away and tragically ended by an alligator attack.  Sadly, I could go on and on, but I don’t want to; these stories are gut-wrenching to contemplate.  My point is clear: we should be thankful for another day to breathe air, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.  Life is a fragile gift.

My third and final thought today is the declaration that I will boast in the Lord, not myself.  In the last blog, I talked about how my dad didn’t brag on himself.  Like Dad, I have no desire to praise myself.  I want to boast of the greatness of my Heavenly Father.  Why?  Because God is great and I am not.

My dad used to have a picture at his cubicle at his work that I want to share with you to conclude today.  You know how some athletes have the habit of pointing up to the sky?  Tim Tebow, for example, used to do it all the time, to acknowledge God.  After my college graduation, Dad, in celebration, took many pictures of me.  I’m so glad he did, because one picture is a pose (inspired by Tebow) that I specifically requested be taken of me.  This picture captures the cry of my heart.