30 Plus 4: Why This Birthday is a Special One
Haylee (Daughter)
Over the years, birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries became days that didn’t hold much emphasis in our lives.
Because of the traumatic brain injuries my husband endured, those days bring a lot of stress and anxiety for him. The idea of getting the right gift for the right person at the right time, just becomes too much. He could have the perfect plan to execute his gift idea and then, suddenly, a mental road block. What would be simple for others, is a daunting one for him; no gift is good enough, the price tag was too low, it won’t get here on time…
All this to say, we’ve become accustomed to, what we call, “Happy Tuesday”. In other words, when I saw this, I thought of you, “Happy Tuesday!”. It takes away the stress and anxiety for him and brings some spontaneity to our lives.
I got asked recently what I wanted to do for my birthday. It wasn’t until that moment, that I realized how quickly that was approaching.
Fast forward a couple days later, and I found myself tearing up while making my daughter a quesadilla – a quesadilla that wasn’t just a quesadilla. It was another meal for my little girl, another moment with her, being there for her, doing something for her. A moment that just a few months ago, no one thought I would have. So as silly as it seems, I teared up making that quesadilla and realized that this particular birthday was something special, something that needed to be celebrated.
I may not be celebrating a milestone birthday, like when you turn 10, 21, or even 30. It’s not my golden birthday, my diamond birthday, or even my platinum birthday, but it is a birthday worth celebrating.
I wasn’t supposed to be here for this birthday. I wasn’t supposed to make it. Yet, here I am.
Despite all the odds stacked against me – the multiple infections, my organs failing, the trial and error with medications and procedures, the multiple surgeries, – I am alive. I am alive to spend another day with my family. I am alive to see another birthday. I am alive to make my daughter another quesadilla. I am alive to, hopefully, do so much more.
God’s bigger plan for my life may not be blatantly obvious to me right now, but I know He is and has been with me through every step of this. It is because of Him, that I am still here.
I pray that if you ever find yourself in a situation similar to mine or you find yourself in the depths of defeat and sorrow, that you know that God is with you. Despite what your circumstances are and what they feel like, God is there in the midst of it all. Remember, the Bible doesn’t say that the weapons won’t form against us, it says they won’t prosper.
God be with you all and may God’s glory continue to shine.