This is my team. These are my people.
I am the first on my team to have a birthday.
A couple days ago, my sweet friend Leah asked me if there were any birthday traditions that I wanted to keep alive. I said no.
So my friends, took it upon themselves to plan, for a whole week, the birthday of a lifetime. 22 isn’t considered a “big” year, but for me, it was the start of what i know will be the best year yet. A year filled with joy. A year filled with change. A year full of freedom.
It started with waking up to the song “22” by Taylor Swift. A 22nd birthday original.
We got ready, ate breakfast and went into town. We went to the market and got lunch and just hung out. It was truly good.
But the best was yet to come. My friends planned me a Colombian fiesta. They made me my favorite American dinner, prepared a chocolate cake full of rainbow jimmies, and made me feel so loved and so cherished. We sat around a long table and ate in community. I felt no anxiety, I felt no nervousness, and in a sweet moment, I realized that Colombia was becoming home to me.
In Colombia, it is a tradition that on your birthday, you get a mixture of things smashed on your head. For me, it was both cake smashed in my face (thanks Brayan), and flour poured on my head (thanks Ricardo). It was really gross and really sweet all at once. I felt like family. I felt like I belonged.
My Colombian fiesta was everything I could have dreamed of, plus a whole heck ton.
That day, I decided a new birthday tradition I want to keep. I want to spend every year surrounded by people who bring me true joy. Who crave to sit around a table and spend time together.
And that’s the things about community. When we do it right, the reward is greater than anything we could ever imagine. A part of my heart will always long for the States, but how sweet is it to know that these people are rooting for me. They are in my corner. They wear my jersey. They choose to say yes to me every single day, even on the hardest days. And for that, I am thankful
So hand in hand, we walk together, towards the Lord, towards His goodness, we spur one another on. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s easy, but it’s always worth it.
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” Psalm 133:1
so much love,
car
