35 years and thinking

Today is my birthday. It was a pretty great day, despite the mounds of snow out my front door and having to change my plans due to this snow. My family and friends made me feel special and loved, which is the best thing about birthdays. I got lots of "happy birthdays" on facebook, phone calls and texts from others, a lovely birthday nap, a wonderful dinner at Mizu's with family, thoughtful gifts, homemade cards from my girls and all sorts of things to totally spoil me. I so appreciate all of it and I love birthdays. Even if I am now officially in my "mid-thirties". I would not admit that until I was actually at the exact mid-point of my thirties. Not sure when I think I will be in my late thirties, but I digress... Here are a couple of fun pictures of the celebration.

As great as all of this celebrating was, this year I thought about my birthday a little differently. I just started reading this great book, "Crazy Love", and it is reminding me of the perspective I want to keep.

A couple of days ago, I read this:

Just to put into perspective the brevity of our lives:
Throughout time, somewhere between forty-five billion and one hundred twenty-five billion people have lived on this earth. That's 125,000,000,000.  In about fifty years (give or take a couple of decades), no one will remember you. Everyone you know will be dead. Certainly no one will care what job you had, what car you drove, what school you attended, or what clothes you wore. This can be terrifying or reassuring, or maybe a mix of both.

And I read this...

It's easy to think about today as just another day. An average day where you go about life concerned with your to-do list, preoccupied by appointments, focused on family, thinking about your desires and needs.
On the average day, we live caught up in ourselves. 
On the average day, we don't consider God very much.
On the average day, we forget that our life truly is a vapor.

Now, I am not trying to be morbid here. But all of this is so true, and I think it is valuable to be reminded how short our lives really are and how each day is a gift from God. I am loving this book and the truths that it is reminding me of (they aren't all morbid, I promise:). We know these things logically, but we usually don't live our lives as if we do. Realizing that we don't have the control that we think we do helps us to rely on God, and the unknowns point to our fragileness. Easier said than done, especially when you are prone to worry like I am, but I'm so thankful I need Him. My life has meaning with Him.

The point of your life is to point to him. That is what I want for my life. I have 35 years down, and who knows how many more to go. But whether I am enjoying the good stuff God has given me or the challenges he has placed before me, I want to show that our God is great and knowing him brings peace and joy - despite circumstances. I know I won't be perfect, and I'll get caught up in all my own stuff repeatedly, but it is my goal for this little time I get to spend on earth. I want to make it count and live my next however many years to the fullest.

Thanks, God, for the first 35 years. I am blessed beyond what I deserve.