Tomorrow, December 31st, is my birthday. The story goes that I was due to be born sometime in the middle of January, but because of my mom's high sugar, the doctor decided he better induce labor and asked my parents when they would want to do it. My father, being an accountant of course, chose before the end of 1971 for the tax exemption, and so the rest, as they say, is history.
I never really minded having a birthday that the entire world celebrated, and you get a lot of funny comments when people hear your birthday is on New Year's Eve. My grandmother's birthday is on New Year's Day, so we often celebrate our birthdays together, a great honor for me. She will be 98 years old on January 1, 2015, and will, I am sure, celebrate with a Manhattan... Cheers to you, GGB...I love you!!
This year I am not sure that anyone here besides Mary Clare knows it is my birthday tomorrow, and that is just fine with me!! I have had many, many "all about me" birthdays... this year is different. Tomorrow I will visit Mary in the hospital, who is there under observation to see if she is receiving the right seizure medication, I will also feed hungry children, take care of Ella, who now has a cold on top of everything else, I will teach the older children about Reconciliation and read books to the younger children. Tomorrow I will play at being a physical therapist and choir director... so many things I do here are things I have never in my life imagined I would do. I have way stepped out of my comfort zone and into what sometimes feels like the twilight zone, but really is the God zone. It is the zone of putting my fears, cares, concerns, pleasures, wants and sometimes needs last. It is doing things I could never see myself doing before, and doing them with joy. It is facing my fears with faith and trusting in myself, in who my family helped to create me to be.
I will not be receiving any presents on my birthday this year, which is again just fine with me. But I was wondering if maybe the viewers of this page could give me a gift this year. I am told that I have had 30,000 visitors to my blog... that may be small potatoes in cyberspace, but in Sarah's space, that is unbelievable!!! If everyone who reads this blog would do one thing over the next couple of days that is outside of their "comfort zone" or something that puts others first, that would be an awesome gift!!! Maybe visiting someone in the hospital or working at a soup kitchen one day. Maybe spending time with an elderly neighbor or taking clothes and books to someone in need. If you could do one thing that takes you out of your normal busyness and make time for someone in need, maybe even someone in need of forgiveness or a little extra love and understanding, and 30,000 of you did it, that would be quite an amazing, one of a kind, extra special birthday gift to me... really to God, and since God created me, every inch, He should be the one to receive the gift anyways!!
I give thanks to my parents and 43 (!!!!!!!) years of love and support, to my grandparents who could probably be in the running for world's greatest grandparents ever, to my brothers and sisters who lift me up each day and help me to continue my work, to my nieces and nephews who I love more than they could ever know, to my best friend who has always been there for me, to too many people to count who have supported me and loved me for all of these years. I love you all... I will say a prayer of thanksgiving for all of you tomorrow.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year... be safe and have fun!! I wish you all the best things in 2015 and invite you to keep up with me throughout the year as I continue to grow and learn about what it really means to give and to receive. Love to all... xo
