a gift

Today is my birthday.

My dad gave me a card that said "Way to be born and stay alive!"

I laughed for a minute and then realized how powerful that statement actually is. 

First, the miracle of life. The questions about life and its significance have been debated sense the beginning of time. Why are we here? Why are we born? 

Love.

To love.

To be loved.

To share love, and to shine love. 

Second, I am alive.  

I have lived for 19 years. Some might say that my being alive is my own doing. I keep myself alive by eating healthy foods, exercising regularly, making smart decisions and the list could go on... Some might say that my family and friends have kept me alive. They love me and care for me. They give me desire to live and they support my basic needs, but are they the reasons that I have lived for 19 years?

I would say, no.

Life is a gift. 

Every breath I take is a holy gift from the one who has created me. 

I can end life, but I cannot create it. That is a divine power.

So on this day, this day to celebrate life- I would contest that we celebrate the giver of life.

By that I do not mean my mother, though she is an amazing woman who deserves recognition for all that she has done for me and my family. 

We should look at this little life, these 19 years, and send up a prayer of thanksgiving to the one who has been there for all time.

He makes my 19 years a grain of sand on the heavenly oceans!

Surely, we can take a moment to acknowledge the fact that we were all born, and we are all alive.

And it is not our doing.