Birthday Blessings
This wasn’t a planned blog post. I am fully content sticking to my very, very loose schedule of once-a-month postings - ha! But during the message at church, the pastor said, “You impress people with your strengths, and you connect to people through your weaknesses.” (quoting someone I don’t remember). Then, after dinner on my birthday some unexpected emotion came over me, and I decided to share some more of my story in hopes of connecting with you!
Last year for my birthday we were all quarantined thanks to COVID. I wasn’t socializing, wasn’t going in to work, wasn’t chauffeuring kids back and forth, wasn’t doing much except infrequent grocery shopping. I had a walk scheduled with a friend, but she said she was running late, and then my kids ushered me to the porch consumed with giggles. There were my friends and a full blown birthday parade! Balloons, guitar players from minivan sunroofs, cards being frisbee’d out windows. Yes, the kind of parade that normally a 6 year old would get, but there I was, grinning from ear to ear on my front porch steps.
These ladies gave me such a wonderful celebration, but what they didn’t realize, is they had given me hope. A few weeks prior, my husband told me he wanted to take a break and move out. I hadn’t told anyone except a therapist. I was ashamed, I was heartbroken, I was exhausted. But there they were... this army of women. Their honking and cheering gave me a peace and comfort that I was going to be ok.
Fast forward to this year. I enjoyed celebrating with dear friends who have supported me through the tears and cheers. I celebrated with new friends who I met directly as a result of my divorce. I celebrated with old friends who I’ve grown closer to as we have all navigated our respective divorces. I celebrated with church and a newfound freedom with my faith.
A good friend reminded me of something I said in the thick of things last summer:
Late last summer, once my divorce was almost settled, I invited a small group of close girlfriends over to share the news. I was wearing this shirt because I wanted to reassure people that I was going to be ok. Tonight, I’m wearing it to bed, because everything IS fine, and I’m so excited for the next year.
Seasons always come to an end – even hard ones. Some seasons are short, and some seem to drag on forever. My prayer for you is hope in the middle of a hard season and faith that there is beautiful sunshine at the end of the tunnel. Hope can come in the form of a birthday parade, or a podcast that gives you tools to cope. It can come in the form of a song that touches your heart, or a book you read over and over again. Or maybe it’s this silly little blog - I would be so honored.
