Turned another year older recently, and I find that I no longer get excited about my birthdays.   It's not that I'm uptight about getting older (am I in denial?), it's just that it doesn't seem to be so big a deal.  The family is kind and wishes me well, as do some friends, business associates, my dentist, my graduate school, and a few others.

What was once the biggest holiday of the year next to Christmas is now a day I hope can just come and go without fanfare.  I do appreciate peoples' kindness, but it's really not a big deal.  Am I alone in this feeling?

Perhaps because it was such a big deal when I was a kid, my birthday is so tame now.  I look at what kids have for birthday parties now (especially a "Chuck E. Cheese's type of party) and what parents spend, and I wonder if there really is any celebration of the person.  The birthday boy or girl can't wait to get gifts, the kids can't wait to get party favors, and the parents can't wait for all of it to be over.   And when it is over, the countdown to the next year begins!

One thing my wife does every year on my birthday is to thank God for me--some of you may be laughing at this point.  It's very humbling to hear your spouse pray like that for you.  Here's a woman who has seen all of my moods, and many of them I am not very proud of, and she still loves me.  I don't think birthdays are about gifts; I think they're about knowing that you're loved and appreciated, and maybe, just maybe, you've made someone else's life even a little better for having been born.

As one radio talk show host once said, every man in middle age thinks it's the "big one" every time he has an ache or pain that is new to him.  He's right, of course, but so what if it would be the "big one?"  I have been blessed in every year I've been alive (even though some years I would have to search for the blessings), and if I die before finishing this blog entry, I know that I will instantly be in the presence of Jesus---an even more humbling experience.   He loves me, and He knows me far better than my wife--scary--and still loves me.  Can it get any better than that?