3 Decades and Counting

“…All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16bToday marks 30 years on this earth…3 decades of my life. Part of me honestly cannot believe it. What happened to the last 10 years? They seemed to have flown by. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I…sound familiar? Birthdays come and go each year, but there’s something about the BIG ones that really make you think, really cause you to reflect on things. I’m truly elated to celebrate today with the love of my life and with many of our closest friends, but still there is a side of my heart that is deep in reflection. Have I spent my time wisely thus far? Did I strive to live each day to the fullest? Was any of it simply wasted? I’m sure some of you have asked yourselves those very same questions.Thinking back over my 30 years, though, I can’t help but have a heart full of joy. Sure, there are numerous things I’ve done that I regret, countless times I wandered away from the path I knew that the Lord was calling me to walk, but along with those faults came His grace. Each wandering and every failure proved to remind me of my constant need for Jesus Himself. Every shortcoming was met with my Savior’s embrace. He just kept calling me back home. My prayer as I look back on my life is first that I would never return to my sin that drew me away from the Lord, but also that my remembrance of those times would stir within me a passion to love others that are lost in their own wanderings. I pray that each day of my life I would make much of Christ in the lives of those around me. I pray that through my story, the many paths I’ve walked, and the countless lives that I’ve encountered that God was glorified somehow in it all. As I reflect, I can’t help but be filled with a heart of praise to a God who heals brokenness and restores what was once ruins. Brokenness was my story. Now, it is redemption.To the next 30 years, may my life be as worship to you, Jesus.