Today is Noah’s birthday party, and tonight 13 pirates and their 17 parents and our family members will be joining us for a pirate party. What was supposed to be a small party in our home has all of a sudden become a festival. We decided for the first time this year to just let Noah invite who he wanted to the party. So really, just a few friends…. And their siblings…. And their parents…. and Noah’s cousins…. and his grandparents. How did this happen?
A very small drop in what is happening in the global ocean today, but to me today it feels like the whole world. When I was a child, my birthdays were magical. My Mom would make the most fantastic cakes, and treats. She threw the best birthday parties and I have always wanted my children to have that amazing gift as well. I still love my birthday, and I think it is all from my wonderful childhood.
But did you know that some of those birthdays were thrown in the middle of the war torn nation of Zimbabwe where my parents pastored a church at one time? Did you know that some of those birthdays were thrown when we left Zimbabwe with almost nothing due to the government’s strict prohibition on taking anything out of the nation? We lived with my grandparents for over a year while we waited for God to open the doors to where we felt like He was leading us, and I still remember my birthday party at my grandparents house J Some of those birthdays happened in America as we struggled to find our feet in the “land of opportunity”. My parents came here with a call from God, two small children, 4 suitcases, $2000 to start an entire life, and no idea where we would even stay. Yet I can still remember what I got for my 8th birthday, and the ice storm that happened on my 9th birthday. We struggled financially in the early years in America, but I only know that now. Back then, I only knew it was my birthday and I was loved, I was celebrated, and I got a surprise.
No matter what is going on in your life today, be it birthdays or moving or job transition or just living a normal day, the really precious moments of this day will be the ones you spend with your friends and family. As I said yesterday, there will always be storms, but don’t miss out on the precious moments (like 6th birthday parties) because of the storm. No matter how difficult and uncertain things may seem right now, your life will go on.
So even while you struggle with decisions, remember that there is a bigger picture for your life than what you are walking through right now. God made you for a purpose. From the day you were born (and even before that), God had a plan for your life for good and not for evil. It really puts things in perspective when you think that you may be going through the hardest time in your lives, like my parents were for my 8th birthday, and yet your children will look back and just remember that they were loved and celebrated. There is a bigger picture, and for me, this day is all about celebrating that bigger picture in my son’s life 🙂
Have a wonderful day, and I will be back soon in a blog called “Paying for the Party”… yup, the budgeting fun never stops 🙂 but thankfully, birthday expenses do… especially if you have a place for them in your budget.