We kinda dig personalized shirts.
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO WISHED ME A HAPPY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY! Your wishes came true.
Last year I threw a birthday party with many people (thank you Nancy V. and Nancy R. for making it happen!), and I remember thinking, “Will all these people want to turn right around to gather again for my wedding in a few months?” And then COVID hit, and gathering limits were reduced to 15 people, and I was so grateful for the Lord’s timing and grace to have allowed me to gather en masse with friends and loved ones before a time of distancing. While 2020 was creating a new normal for us all, I continued to see the Lord’s grace and care in the details.
I can reflect on my birthday yesterday and say I loved it just as much any birthday celebration I have ever had. (Mark’s shirt, tho!) The weekend was filled with meaningful people, places, and things that brought me life: Mark and I spent Saturday in Arkansas with art (Crystal Bridges Museum) and extended family. My birthday coincided with my church’s re-opening after the holidays, so I considered that my birthday gathering, and I was able to worship safely in-person. Café Cusco outdid themselves in cuisine and color. I opened birthday cards with glitter, exer-danced (if you know, you know), and made my favorite smoothie (which cancelled out cupcakes and cheesecake, of course). I confess I was overwhelmed (in the best way) by the number of text messages and Facebook posts that inundated my phone, and I sat to marvel during multiple points in the day that God has given me this many revolutions around the sun. That He has given me Mark, someone beyond all I could ask or hope, and that He has seen fit to bring us together during a time of national and international crises for His purposes. What I’m learning through all my sun-revolutions is that God’s paths are inscrutable but His character is trustworthy. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!…For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen” (Rom. 11:33,36).