Today is my birthday. I’m still learning how to have a birthday. I’m discovering birthdays are awesome, and they’re sneaky. Believe it or not, birthdays have been secretly teaching us a thing or two about grace for quite some time. Here’s how:
Birthday cupcakes! Think back to grade school. Do you remember what would happen when someone would have a birthday? They’d bring in cupcakes for the whole class! We’d snack on those and get sugared up right before hopping on the bus. Here’s the thing: What did we do to deserve them? Nothing. Was it because we were good, or because we were so-and-so’s friend? Nope. Everyone got one. That’s grace.
Your very first birthday. Imagine you met someone who was new to the idea of celebrating birthdays. Think about trying to explain what to expect. We make birthdays a big deal! From cards, to cakes, to the multitude of well wishes on your Facebook wall; when it’s your birthday you get the royal treatment. Some restaurants will sing, dance, bring out balloons and even give you a special dessert if you tell them it’s your birthday. Then there’s gifts. People will give you gifts! They might even throw you a party. Here’s the thing: What did you do deserve it? Nothing. Seriously, think about it. We maintained basic homeostasis, we survived, another year. That’s it. That’s grace.
Sometimes, if you play your cards right, you’ll even get your own mustache cake!
Love and birthdays. Maybe the most secret concept birthdays have been teaching us all along is how to receive love. I’ve struggled with this. I just don’t want people to go to the hassle. Years back,I took down my birthday on my Facebook, and I would refuse to tell people when it was. Finally, I was struck, three summers ago, when my camp director said (in response to my not wanting to celebrate) “Let us love you!” My pride was trying to pose as humility and it was costing those around me the opportunity to celebrate, the opportunity to be loving. Back in grade school, no kid dreamed of refusing the birthday cupcake. But with time, we load ourselves up with all these excuses to refuse the joy birthdays bring. Birthdays are a mystery. They don’t make sense. Maybe the best part is you don’t have to understand it to receive it. That’s grace.
