Unimportant History

I called my step-mother on Saturday to wish her a great Mother’s Day since I knew I would be a bit busy myself on Sunday. My father got on the phone and immediately said, “Happy Birthday!”

No, Saturday was not my birthday, but I’m used to Dad thinking Mother’s Day is my special day because it sorta kinda is. I was born on Mother’s Day, but my actual birthday is today, May 13th. Every now and then the two days converge like they did during the year of my birth, but not this year.

This is my third year of blogging where I have recognized my day for anyone who cares to read my meager postings. Over at History Is Elementary I mentioned my birthday in 2006 and 2007.

Now, it’s 2008! Time flies.

This morning my dear husband rolled over and the first words I heard were “happy” and “birthday”. I told him thanks and then got a little philosophical about the whole thing. Basically what I said was something to do with the fact that each year as we grow older we celebrate an event none of us remember. Oh, we think we do because over the years relatives who were there and participated in some way (especially our moms) like to tell you the story of your birth, but we don’t really remember it on our own. We exist on borrowed memories.

I don’t know what kind of day it was. Was it sunny? Was it raining? What was on everyone’s mind that day? What were they concerned with as I made my entrance into the world? A bill hanging over their head? A looming parent-teacher conference?

What type of room was it? What did it smell like?

What did the day feel like? What was the first word said in the room as I emerged into the world? Did the doctor slap me on the fanny or did I start crying immediately?

For all we think we know about our special day we really don’t, and as the years go by the very people that can continue to share that special moment with you are gone, and their memories and recollections are gone with them.

So what does God have to say in the Scriptures about our birth? One of the best books I’ve consulted regarding our lives and our purpose in life is Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life. I pull my copy of it off the shelf often to get my head straight when I get a little too full of myself. This morning Rick Warren reminded me of three important things.

*I’m not an accident. Psalm 139:16 tells me God saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Everyday was recorded in His book. God planned my parents, my nationality, my ethnicity, my gender. Acts 17: 26 states From one man he made every nation…and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Over at History Is Elementary I’ve written about the coincidences that occur in history, but there really are no coincidences.

*I’m made to last forever. Rick Warren reminds us that we will spend more time in eternity than we will here on earth. Genesis 4: 12 reminds us God has….planted eternity in the human heart. Warren also reminds us that the Bible refers to our life in our earthly bodies as a tent, but in Heaven we have a house. When this tent we live in---our body here on earth---is torn down, God will hae a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself as made, which will last forever. (Psalm 31:1) By following Christ I have made the decision to live in the light of eternity. Rick Warren advises that decision colors how you handle every relationship, task, and cirumstance. It sure helps keep things in perspective.

*I was planned for God’s pleasure. I may not have the first hand knowledge of my birth I would like to have, but one thing is for certain. God was there, and He was happy I was born. I was created for his enjoyment. I am to enjoy life as well. Rick Warren makes this case where he explains our five senses were given to us for a purpose…..so we can interact with our world. Revelation 4:11 advises God created everything, and it is for His pleasure that they exist and were created.

It doesn’t matter that I don’t remember the emotion and the events of my emergence into this world. It is unimportant history. It doesn't matter.

What matters is my relationship with God.

What matters is your relationship with God.