New Year

No, not like January first.  Like, it's my birthday today.  And as the day winds to an end I just keep thinking about how this is a new year for me.

I will admit, this was a much anticipated birthday.  My birthdays usually come and go in a blink.  I watch them fly by without much fuss or thought.  But this year was different.  I found myself thinking about my age more so than I ever have before.  This year I have been noticing that my body is actually AGING, and it seems so odd to me.  I have observed in years past how I am growing up, but not so much aging.  However, aging is not really what bothered me about this birthday.

This is the year that I turn 28.  I don't know what it is about that number.  For some reason that has always been THE number in my head that separated youth and true womanhood.  Maybe because that is how old my mom was when she got married.  Maybe it's just one of those arbitrary ages that I built up in my head.  For many it is 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, etc.  For me it is and has been 28.  I was not looking forward to this day.  I confess, I shed a tear or two.

A few weeks ago I had the honor of having breakfast with my beautiful friend Abby.  Abby is amazing and anyone who listens to me when I talk about Abby knows how much I adore and respect her.  One occasion for our special breakfast was that it was her birthday.  I asked her how she was feeling about getting older and all that.  Her answer was challenging and inspiring, as many of her answers to me have been over the years.  She basically told me that every year that she gets older she is just looking forward to the year in order to see what else the Lord is going to put into her life.  She ages with thankful, excited, and joyful anticipation of what her Creator will bring into her life.  At the time I thought how nice it would be to actually feel that and believe that.  I was secretly praying that my heart would truly be able to echo that in my 29th year on the planet.

So, today dawned in the same nondescript way as yesterday.  As I made my way through the day, nothing particularly spectacular happened.  But when I settled down to write in my journal this evening, I could really only think of one phrase:  My cup overflows...

We talked about the 23rd Psalm in Bible study tonight, and it just hit me in a way that it hasn't in a long time.  "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows."

This is the perfect analogy for my life right now.  My cup is overflowing!  When I think about today, and the many friends who have helped me celebrate, I just can't help but feel so overflowy!  When I am sitting smack dab in the middle of good conversation, moral support, rest, worship, feasting, Scrabble, lake fun, true friends, family, cards, gifts, phone calls, texts, stillness, sleep, entertainment, country drives, country music, laughter and chocolate cake, what else can I feel but abundantly blessed?

Most of all, I truly look forward to 28 as an opportunity, my greatest gift, from God.  It is an opportunity to get to know Him more intimately than I ever have.  A chance to abide in him in a way that I have not yet experienced.  A time for me to seek His will on earth as it is in heaven.  A year for me to watch Him restore to me the joy of my Salvation with a child-like faith.  When I think of it in this way, I simply can't wait.  May my eyes and ears be open to it all!