The Best Birthday Gift. . . Ever

Each year I would begin calling my dad around the end of March.
 The countdown to my birthday had commenced.
We played this game for years.
Well into my adulthood.
Long after I should have stopped. 
I loved it.
Mom had a knack for making birthdays and holidays magical.
It wasn't anything she bought.
It was her excitement. It was catchy.
She singled you out.
For worth. For purpose. 
My birthday meant Spring.

The end of the cruel winter.
Each birthday wonderful.
Spent with family and friends.
It didn't matter what we did.
I just loved being together and celebrating.
Mom is gone now.
Called to Jesus. Her Eternal Home.
And now too, my son. 
Last year we went to dinner.
Because we live in such a techy era we have a memory.
A picture.
It was so fun.
God knew we would need these lasting imprints from these final celebrations this side of eternity.

Today I don't really feel like celebrating. 
It's hard to do life when part of you is missing.
But God has other ideas.
Right in the Middle of Holy Week we attended a funeral.
Another heart wrenching, unbelievable loss.
It has left me with questions; trying to make sense of this journey.
The thought of celebrating a birthday while my son resides with the King of Kings has been troubling.
Years of cards and memories.
Yet God, in his infinite wisdom, did not take this lightly.
My birthday would fall on the pivotal day of all days.
The day the stone's been rolled away. 

Friday is gone. 

Now it's Sunday. 

And we are the Sunday people.
A people born into rest.

We are a people that have been set free. 

We have been redeemed.
For worth. For purpose. 

There is nothing we can do to earn this love.

He paid it all. 
It is the greatest birthday gift I could receive.
I think about the cost.
His life. . . for me. 

The grave is empty. 

He is Risen.

Matthew 28:6
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. 
Come and see the place where he lay.

And because of that gift, eternity is mine.
It is yours. 
One day I will see my son again.
Until then, may I be found faithful.
May you all become a Sunday people. 
Lay down those burdens and take up the cross.
Let God take all that ensnares you.
Let Him fill you with His grace.
Thank you Jesus for the best gift ever given.


Living, He Loved Me
Dying, He Saved Me