Celebrate Your Life

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:4 NIV)

Turning forty this year feels both weird and freeing. While I am not lamenting the number, I do look back and think it cannot be possible that I have lived so long. I don’t think forty is old, but it is a lot of years, filled with learning and changing. So much has happened, but I know so much is still to come, starting with making great memories this year.

Generally, we don’t have big birthday parties in my family. Planning and hosting big parties is not really my thing, although I think many other reasons tie into our smaller family celebrations as well. We used to do the traditional cake and ice cream for each person on their special day, but in the past few years have made a switch to the birthday person getting to choose their special meal and dessert. I have a husband who loves brownies and a son who usually wants homemade cinnamon rolls. I don’t need the ice cream, but I still want my cake with buttercream icing, and I enjoy the process of making that creation myself. As our kids have gotten older, we try to let them choose a special activity to help us celebrate them and their day, which allows us to recognize the gift they are to our family.

Forty feels like a different, more audacious birthday, especially riding on the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. In my family of origin, it has been the norm to tease and make fun of family members for getting older. Cakes with black icing and tombstones on them are what I remember seeing as a child. My husband mentioned his dad’s friends bringing him packages of Depends when he turned forty. I told him if he does anything like that, he might as well sleep on the couch–not that he would, anyhow. That’s not really his style, either.

I want to celebrate my life and all of its beauty. I want to look around at my little family and remember again how God has blessed me. The life I have lived so far has given me so many glimpses of the Lord in little ways. He has also shown up for me in all sorts of big ways. I want to celebrate how I can look back and see his hand on my life. He created my innermost being and it was very good, right? I want to glorify him by enjoying the day and the beauty all around me, not by lamenting that my life is (potentially) half over. I can rejoice in the idea that I am that much closer to meeting my Lord and Savior and being with him for all eternity, but as far as I know, I still have a lot of life yet to live. I hope I will live it to the fullest.

When our five kids were all small, traveling felt like a mountain to climb rather than a time to let loose and have carefree fun. However, the kids are all a little older now, and they actually travel pretty well when we pack enough snacks. So this year, for my birthday, we decided to get away with them all to the beach and whatever else awaits us there. We can eat out, which is something we rarely do. We can take long walks and check out the little shops in the beach town we are staying in. We can stop and take pictures everywhere and have no schedule to be on. I will look for the beauty of God in all my kids’ faces and in the lovely creation around me. I plan on sharing with them all the reasons I believe my life is worth celebrating.

I know for some of you, a little getaway to the beach doesn’t sound like a huge deal, but it is for us. Throughout our marriage, we have not taken many purposeful vacations. Moving around from place to place with the military has given us a built-in sense of adventure (and we might also be penny pinchers). I hope that with forty comes an ability to pointedly celebrate the special occasions that are built into our ordinary lives better than we have in the past.

Lord, show us how to celebrate in ways that bring glory to you. Help us to remember that you created us, and we are worth celebrating in ways that help us see and enjoy the lives you have given us. Help us make celebrating the wonder of our very lives something that reminds the world around us that you are the creator of life, and that life is very good. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matt. 6:27 NIV)

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 10:39 NIV)

“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:6 NIV)

Reach for More

Is there anything in your life that you normally would not celebrate, but other people do? Is there something that you have seen someone else do that sparked something inside you and made you want more or want something different than what you have done before? How can you celebrate fully the life God has given you, not just on your next birthday, but whenever there is even a small reason for celebration. Let’s grab onto the special times in life and experience all the joy we can through them.

Take a little inventory of the way you currently celebrate. Does the way you celebrate glorify God? Is there a better way? A more beautiful way? Ask the Spirit to show you what needs changing. Then, ask the Spirit to show you how you can glorify the Lord through your celebrations. If it is your own birthday or special occasion (think job promotion, graduation, or simply stepping out of your comfort zone to try something new), think of a way to celebrate that lets others, especially the people you live with, know that you think you are worth it because God says you are!

Carla Clemens enjoys a crazy, beautiful life with her military husband, four sons, and a daughter. A baby interrupts her homeschool days in the best ways, and she is always attempting to live with mindfulness of each moment. She hopes to look at the world and each person in it in light of our amazing Creator, and therefore, to see each moment presented as an opportunity to love and serve him more. Carla relishes time to ponder God’s Word and have quiet moments with him and her coffee. She loves doing life with other mamas and encouraging them to simply be who God has made them to be.