26 isnt so bad

i never wanted to worry about getting old. i decided at some point when i was a kid that i would always be proud of my age... whether i was 10, 26, 37, 64, or 99. well, we can all agree that getting older was fun back then. but i think its fun now and really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. i remember my grandma turning 39 over and over again when i was a kid. so silly i thought!!

im 26 now. i guess i thought id have kids and a career by now, but maybe thats what you bum out about getting older... you are thinking of what you dont have. well this year i was totally overwelhmed with what i do have!! it may be a little easier for me... being newly married :) but having lucas in my life this year made 26 so fun. we had a regular busy wednesday on the 7th so lucas planned to take me out to breakfast. 7am. Eat at Joes. im not telling you to eat there. that is what its called. i had oatmeal and that always reminds me of my grandad. he goes out for breakfast and orders oatmeal everyday. everyday. growing up i would decide against the pancakes sometimes and order oatmeal too. just to be like him. lucas and i went on a little walk, and took some random pics, enjoying the snipit of time together before the work day began. when we got home my phone rang. my grandma and my grandad sang Happy Birthday to me! i could hear them both. it was so special i was about to cry. i love them so much. throughout the day i got Happy Birthday texts and singing Birthday voicemails from close family, good friends, and even some new friends! my dad said a prayer for me that also almost brought me to tears too. women. what is it with the men on our lives? they almost always make or break any special day. come on. you know its true. when i got home from work lucas had cut me some flowers in our front yard and made me a card. when i saw them on the counter i got so excited (i knew where they were from). if you know me. i really dont want more than that. i love it simple. and so long as i get to spend some good time with you thats all i need. so i was all set to cook... but lucas took me out to dinner too! islands. one of my favorites. then it was time for our perspectives class and lucas insisted on bringing a cake. yum! so of course with the cake the Birthday song could not be resisted. and pastor dan and the class prayed for me. i had to choke back a tear again. class was about misconceptions that chirstians ans muslims have between one another (one of my favorite topics), and about thinking through how we want to be involved in Gods plan to bless the nations. since lucas was simply set on spoiling me, we went out to 7-11 for slurpees, took them home, and talked about what we want to do with our lives. is this really my life?

so when you are older maybe you are bummed out about the parts of life you are going to miss when you are gone. mostly time with the people you love the most. i had one of those times last night. my mom, sister, and grandparents came over to lucas and i's for dinner and pie. i sorely missed my dad (who was out of town) but had a really indescribable time with my family.

i have to say i just feel overwelhmingly blessed. again if you know me i can get bummed out on life pretty easy sometimes. the 6th i was feeling that way. burdened. worried. and i know through you people that love me, Jesus was showing me how much He loves me. you know. He really loves us.

when you get older, it must be much more real. the fact that you are going to die one day. you hurt when you stand too long, you cant pick up things without help, your hair is grey or gone, and you have great grand children. but you have a full lifetime of memories. good. bad. fun. hard. and they are all full of people. some of those people may be gone already. but they somehow must still be part of your life. so we should know that when we go we will still be part of the lives that we leave.

but! for those of us who believe. Jesus is waiting for us! open arms. with love. and the family of believers too. and we will be together without sin and death, with our Lord. forever. into eternity.