birthday weekend

With my birthday on a Monday this year any celebration was going to be done this weekend. I have to say that this birthday is so much more special to me than any other. I tend to be a person that looks at his birthday as a celebration regardless of my age, but there is so much more to celebrate in my life this year.

Last year I had a wonderful present; I found out that I was going to be a dad. For a guy whose greatest longing was for a wife and kids there couldn’t have been a better gift. This time around I’ve got the gift sitting here with (on) me. Reflecting on my 49 years of life brings me to thinking of God’s faithfulness to me. For so many years I looked at relationships as something that brought me pain, mostly because of the lack of anything meaningful. I wondered if this was my “thorn” and prayed a number of times for God to take the desire for wife and child from me. He said, “No.” It wasn’t just not getting an answer, I really got the sense He was saying no. When Shelby came into my life I came to understand why.

I’ve also come to see that God is the one who gives us the true longings of our hearts. We have to be so careful that our longings don’t become idols that we run to, distancing us from God our provider. It can be hard not to become angry with God when it seems like He’s withholding the fulfillment of such a strong desire. I know that I had times where I screamed at Him… The amazing thing is that God is the only one who truly knows what the longings of our hearts are, and He is the only one who can truly fulfill them. He wants us to seek Him first though, and the problem is that you have to wait for His timing. Fortunately, this time I did. And the Lord really came through.

So I come to 49 with more thankfulness in my heart than at any other time in my life. I can truly say that I would not want to go back to any other age, I’m truly the happiest I’ve ever been. All of this brings to mind the words from the hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (which was our processional at our wedding, by the way):

Hast thou not seen
How all your longings have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Amen and thank you Lord.

So here are some pictures of my ‘birthday presents’ this year:

My smiley son at the Outback Steakhouse

My family – Yeah!

Another highlight today is that Riley turned four months old! It’s amazing, it seems like he’s always been a part of my life at this point. Incredible how fast I can forget what it was like to be childless…

We love our boy and I love my family!

Jonathan