I'm now 29 years old. Today is my birthday, and it was a good day. We didn't make any particular plans for the day, except for having some good friends over for lunch. Understated though it was, the day was all the more vivid and sweet because it was understated.
We slept in, and had a nice leisurely breakfast, with Sarah McLachlan playing in the background. We went to Sunday school, and then went to the second worship service, because some good friends of our were getting their newborn son baptized. [I actually zipped out of the choir loft, jumped out of my choir robe and sat near the front of the sanctuary to see the deed done first-hand, then zipped back behind the choir loft, re-robed, and slid into place in time for the choir anthem, slightly breathless but happy to have pulled it off and then back on again with such good timing.]
The friends we had over for lunch live about two miles from us, but we hadn't made time to visit with them for over two years, and we had a grand time over lunch.
Overall, this day was restful, quiet, and contemplative. I had time to read a very interesting book and think about the past year and all the good gifts that the Lord has given to me, even though I don't deserve any of them. With God's gifts made so obviously manifest to me, I had no need or even any desire for any gifts from my fellow humans.
This marks I think a significant change of attitude for me. I have been wondering when it would come around, and now I think that it has. Before I was married, I somewhat subscribed to what's called the via negativa, or the "way of denial" in matters of liberty and conscience. Leading up to and after my wedding day, I had all the reasons in the world to "change lanes" into the via positiva, or the "way of affirmation", in which one says of the goods things in life to God: "These are like You", and enjoy all the fruits of this world as gifts and shadows of my Creator. With the pending birth of my firstborn son, I am ready once again to walk the way of denial and say to God of the things around me, "Neither are these things Thou", and renew my dedication to the fact that nothing on this earth can significantly compare to what awaits those who God loves in His Presence.
The ramifications of this change will work themselves out slowly in the near future, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they are.
