Posted By FarmerJ on October 20, 2008

I recently celebrated a birthday.  Initially, I was feeling a little droopy because this was one of those pre-milestone birthdays, you know ~ the last year I will ever get to be thirty-something.  Those that know me know that I like to plan things in advance.  I have lists, lots of lists.  I’ve always heard about how terrible it is when you turn forty, so I figure I’d might as well start planning for it now.  I have an entire year to prepare and practice being apathetic about being forty.

Well, all that lasted about thirty-nine minutes.  No matter how I tried, I just couldn’t wear a long face over reaching this stage in my life.  I kept pondering the words of wise Alexander Graham Bell who said, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”  How can I possibly be saddened at the thought of closing the thirty-something door and opening the forty-something door?  It’s all those years that have made me who I am ~ all those life experiences that have shaped my character.  How can I look regretfully upon that?  I cannot wait to see the riches that are in store for me in my forties!

Yes, I am older and those fine lines around my eyes are more apparent ~ but those are just laugh lines, you know ~ and I even have to pluck a hair now and then that tends to be a little lighter shade of blond than those around it.  But I am also [hopefully] wiser.  I’ve noticed that with age comes a feeling that’s hard for me to put my finger on, but it’s one that makes me content.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned who I am and what I’m capable of.  That’s something I didn’t have when I was twenty-something.  How can I feel despair over that?

Life is too beautiful!  So, instead of counting candles on a cake this year, I decided to count my blessings.  The number of blessings in my life far exceed the number of candles I will ever see on any cake!  Blessings that are far too many to list here ~ but rest assured I thank the Lord every day for my most wonderful husband; for my incredible boys; for the opportunity to get to know my parents from an adult perspective; for the friends who have crossed my path; for the beautiful surroundings He’s placed me in and the experiences I’m gaining from being here; and, for the seasons that are yet to come.

Yes, I am rich with His blessings ~ may your blessings be abundant, too!

Categories: Plainly Ponderings
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