Birthdays

No story about my journey would be complete without speaking of birthdays. I'm sure I'll tell about certain birthdays and the events surrounding them as I go along but yesterday was my forty-first birthday. You think I'm older than that? Actually yesterday was my Spiritual Birthday. Now, that terminology may be foreign to some of you, but to most, you know exactly what I mean.

I think we should celebrate our "second" birthday even more than we do our first. When I was born into this world physically, I didn't have a choice about it. No choice about who my parents were. No choice about what nationality or race. No choice about my gender. But my second birth was all about choices. I had to decide how I wanted to live my life. I had to decide WHO I wanted to live for: myself or my Maker. I had to decide what I wanted my life to represent. At the ripe old age of eleven, I'm sure that I didn't consciously think about those things individually. I just knew that something and Someone was tugging at my heart. I knew I loved Him and wanted Him to be with me forever. I knew I needed a Saviour!

I'm so thankful that I made that decision at a young age. It's so hard, many times, for adults, who are "set in their ways" to surrender their will to another Power. I'm a very strong-willed person, and, if I had waited, I'm afraid it would have been a much harder decision. That's why it is so important that we teach children, at the earliest age possible, the right way to go: the truth. And the most effective way of teaching is by example. Children learn what they live.

I don't remember anything about my physical birth. But I remember everything about my Spiritual Birth! I remember my thoughts, my feelings, my tears, even the dress I was wearing. I remember the place (I even know the street address), the time . . . . (you know the song). Those memories are forever etched into my mind. I'll never forget it.

The journey that began on February 9, 1969 has been one full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and victories and trials (tests), but never have I wanted to go back and undo it. I'll have to admit that I've actually had times physically that I would rather to have not been born but never have I wished I had never been born again. In fact, it is that foundation that makes this physical life more secure and more worth living.

If you have not experienced what I'm talking about, I invite you to try it out! You'll love it!