B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

I’ll be off the grid by the time this post goes live, but I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has wished me a “Happy Birthday,” or spoken some kind word to me in the last 24 hours.  Getting older tends to lack the excitement it did when I was 5, 10, or even 15.  My kids talk almost daily about how they want their birthdays to be celebrated or who they want to invite to their party.  Not me.  I’ve started pushing harder against the ground, trying to find a brake pedal somewhere that will slow down the inevitable annual reminder that I’m not as young as I once was.

Having said all of that, I have to say this – I am blessed.  I look around me and life isn’t perfect, but it is good.  I have family and friends.  I have shelter, and food, and clothes.  Most importantly I have a relationship with God – He knows me.  He loves me.  Jesus daily reminds me of that humbling, yet overwhelming, truth.    I have a community of faith that I’m honored to pastor, a business that gives me amazing opportunities every week to meet or talk to someone new and interesting.  I am blessed.

So yeah, birthday’s bring less balloons and clowns, and toy trucks and hoopla as I age.  But they provide an amazing opportunity to simply stop and count your blessings.  Honestly, I’ve lost count trying to count them.  Yeah, I am blessed.  You are too, take some time today to count a few and share them with others.  #blessed