How do you celebrate a 40th birthday when it falls during a time of social distancing and quarantine? A party is clearly out of the question. My creative husband and family did everything they could to make my 40th birthday special.
The morning felt normal, at least our new normal. In the afternoon we went for a hike. The day was sunny and sixty-five degrees, a gift in itself. After arriving back at home, I relaxed while my husband prepared dinner and my present.
I sat on the couch while he streamed a video to the television. For about thirty minutes the screen displayed an array of special people in my life from childhood through the present. Friends and family relived memories, uttered kind words, shared thoughts about our friendship or how I have impacted their lives. I cried and laughed as I watched in awe.
It was as if I got to hear eulogies for my own funeral without having to die. People opened up and said things they may not have said in person. I watched the video twice and decided it was the best present ever!
The following morning during my quiet time, I processed the array of emotions I was feeling. Sadly we all question our worth and influence at times, myself included. On the morning after my 40th birthday, I had no doubt I was loved and accepted, I had seen the proof.
I sat communing with God, praising Him for a memorable birthday. Even though I couldn’t be with friends or extended family, I was given an amazing intangible gift, the gift of love.
The Lord interpreted something to me that morning. He said, “Katie, this feeling of love you have today, I love you even more than that every day.” That blew my mind. I felt so saturated with love, how could He possibly love me more?
I wanted to retain this feeling of love and carry it with me. I wished to share it with others.
I have been praying Ephesians 3:17-19 for months. Now I could understood the reality of this verse.
“That I being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”
While my birthday wasn’t exactly as I imagined, God in His goodness, showed me His abounding love for us.
How can we go about our day and life with this knowledge? What would we do differently?
Katie T. Kennedy's 