Happy Birthday!

The month of June has special significance to me because it is the month in which I was born. I believe everyone should celebrate the day they were born. It is intended to be a day of joyful reflection of being blessed to have been given life on this earth. I believe life is the greatest gift God gave us through His Son Jesus Christ. However, in many instances the circumstances in which people were born sometimes makes the day of their birth not seem all that special. As a matter of fact, some people have never celebrated their birth because of how they were conceived. I was one who was born to an unwed mother. I am sure for her it was a challenging time being so young and having to face such an uncertain future. It was enough for her to figure out her own path and I must have added some measure of responsibility.

I am grateful for her courage and sacrifice navigating through that difficult time in her life. I believe I was affected by her struggles and the absence of my biological father. Subconsciously it affected me in ways I have only recently started to realize. One of the things I have noticed is how I have always felt like I was a burden to my mother. Even as a child I always felt like I was obligated to do my best to make sure she was happy because I was the reason why she had so many challenges. It made me feel as if my birth was a problem rather than a blessing. When I was born, I made things harder for my mom. Of course, all of that was a lie. I had no control over the circumstances of my birth and while I felt that way, my mother never said that my birth was ever a problem. But somehow, I was fed a lie from the enemy that my birthday was not something to celebrate. And so, birthdays were never that special to me.

When I was born again in Christ, He revealed to me that that was a stronghold that needed to be pulled down. He showed me that my birth was by design and that I was fearfully and wonderfully made. It changed my outlook on my birth. I realize that maybe the circumstances were not ideal for my parents, but it was ordained by God that I got here. My birth was special because it was God who saw fit to have me be born. Every year I celebrate two birthdays. The day of my spiritual birth on March 14, 1979, and the day of my physical birth June 10, 1958.

I want to send a shout out to all the people reading this that may not have had the ideal circumstances at their birth. I think about Jesus who saved the world even though he was born in some unfavorable circumstances. Maybe like me there are those of you reading this blog and the circumstances of your birth were not ideal. You have been told a lie that your birthday is not significant. I want to encourage you that you are special, and you should celebrate because God gave you life. He had a special purpose for your life. You are not a mistake. You are not a problem. You are not an accident. You are not the result of some indiscretion. However you got here, you are a gift from God to this world.

Happy Birthday to not only me but to you too! Whenever your birthday is remembered it is a great day and it is a day to celebrate!
The enemy is a liar! Happiest of Birthday’s despite the circumstances. Happy Birthday no matter the month.