Monday Morning Manna: Birthdays

Birthdays are special days, at least for most people.? My early birthday parties seemed to be occasions for other people to celebrate.? I remember a birthday party at Playland Park in Houston, the predecessor of AstroWorld. My friends had a great time.? I failed to understood why the first stop was the Hot Dog stand and the second stop was the Roller Coaster.? I’ve never been amused by amusement parks. On another birthday, my party consisted of riding horses.? I never liked horses, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.? Surprise birthday parties were the worst.? I only liked surprises when I was the one providing the surprise.? But in spite of my early dislike of birthday parties, I do have a few favorite birthday quotes:

·???????? In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.? Abraham Lincoln

·???????? Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.? Mark Twain

·???????? How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? Satchel Paige

·???????? Age is not important unless you're a cheese. Helen Hayes

·???????? Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know “why” I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved. Will Rogers

• “Mostly, what I have learned so far about aging, despite the creakiness of one’s bones and cragginess of one’s once-silken skin, is this: Do it. By all means, do it.” Maya Angelou
• “You know you’re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.” ?Bob Hope
• “You’ve logged so many miles in the voyage of life that you’ve been upgraded to first class!” ?Evelyn Loeb
• “The first fact about the celebration of a birthday is that it is a way of affirming defiantly, and even flamboyantly, that it is a good thing to be alive.” G. K. Chesterton

Why have I devoted this Monday Morning Manna to birthdays?? Because this Monday, December 30 is my birthday. ?As I aged, I received a new special verse – “Now?also when?I?am?old?and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until?I?declare Your strength to?this?generation, Your power to everyone?who?is to come” (Psalm 71:18).

Dr. Dan R. Crawford, Senior Professor, Chair of Prayer Emeritus; Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. Former Head of Task Force for the Teaching of Prayer in Theological Education for America’s National Prayer Committee.? Administrative Consultant for the Valley Baptist Missions Education Center. President of Disciple All Nations, Inc.