Choosing To Celebrate

​“Happy Birthday!” 
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As a kid, I remember being so excited to celebrate my birthday each year. I mean, who doesn’t love getting gifts, eating too much cake and ice cream, and spending time with people who love them? 
 
As a kid, if someone asked me “How old are you?” I would proudly tell them my age. Sometimes, I might even correct them - “No, I’m not 7. I’m 7 1/2.” Adults, though, don’t seem to proudly announce their age, and they rarely brag about their “half-birthdays.”  Why is this? 
 
Why is it that when we are kids we can’t wait to be older, but the older we get the more we think about being young again?
 
Maybe it’s because we yearn to go back to the days when things were simpler….the days when our biggest concerns were what to play with next…the days when others took care of us and the world seemed safe… the days when our hearts didn’t know what it felt like to be broken….the days when dreaming was encouraged and anything seemed possible.
 
Birthdays are all about celebrating life. Ironically, it took losing my mom to give me a new perspective about celebrating.
 
I've learned that we shouldn’t wait for birthdays to celebrate life. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God knows the number of our days, and that means each day we are alive He has a purpose for us.
 
Sometimes it’s easy to celebrate. Other days, not so much. In fact, some days celebrating seems impossible. Our circumstances may not lend themselves to celebrating, but we can choose to celebrate other things….

• Each day we can choose to celebrate the fact that we exist for a reason. It doesn’t mean we won’t have struggles. It means we can have hope because we know there is purpose in those struggles.

• Each day we can choose to celebrate the fact that we are given more time to connect with those around us…to share our story and become a part of someone else’s story.

• Each day we can choose to celebrate the fact that we have the opportunity to show love to others…to let them know they are valued and that their lives also matter.

 
On the days we don’t feel like celebrating, we must remember that if God gave us those days, He must still have a reason for us being here.
 
We can choose to celebrate that our story is written by a loving author, and that each page/chapter has a purpose. 
 
Celebration is a choice. What will you choose to celebrate today?