I had a birthday yesterday.
I don’t know if you’re aware of that because I didn’t mention it as the day approached, but yesterday was my birthday. I turned 36, which is one year away from being “not old” according to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I look forward to running that joke into the ground in 2021, so…get ready for that.
My birthday featured, among other things, cake for breakfast and lunch with my wife. We loaded up in the evening and drove to Vilonia, where I preached on some lessons I’ve learned in my twenty years of Christianity. The auditorium was full, with many people in attendance that had the privilege of preaching to in my years working in Central Arkansas. It’s what came after the sermon that made the day really special.
My first-born nephew Noah, the son to the man who—more than anyone else on planet earth—is the reason I’m a Christian, stepped out and asked me to baptize him into Christ. So how about that: My son Joshua and I share birthdays of a sort (he was born on June 23, and I was born-again on that same day, too), and now my nephew Noah and I share birthdays of a sort (I was born on August 26, and he was born-again on that same day, too).
I felt like the Psalmist, writing hymns of praise to the God who is there in bad days and good…
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
(Psalm 57:7-11)
And then after, they threw me a surprise birthday party.
So yeah, in the words of Ice Cube(‘s horribly inappropriate song), it was a good day.
~ Matthew