It’s my birthday. I celebrate it four times a year. All right, you’re wondering how I celebrate my birthday on a quarterly basis.
It’s simple. My actual day of birth is number 1. When August 21 rolls around, I call my mother and sing happy birthday to her. After all, she birthed me. That’s number 2. Then on Chase and Cameron’s birthday, I lay claim to a third and a fourth birth day.
You may laugh, but it was me who gave birth to those boys. Me who huffed and puffed my way through labor without pain medication or an epidural. It was me who pushed until I thought my head would blow off. So yeah, their birthdays are actually my BIRTH days. I figure I did the work; I earned the celebration.
I tease about my birth experience, but the truth is I only remember the joy of my boys’ entrance into the world. I know there was pain, but I can’t remember how it felt.
Early on in Scripture, God declared to Eve that He would make her pains in childbearing severe. I don’t know a woman alive who would say God didn’t keep that promise. The physical side of carrying a child and then giving birth is nothing short of … well … painful.
But here’s what is so special about our God. In His deep love for us and through His immense forgiveness, He shows us mercy by allowing us to forget the anguish, yet relish in the joy. What a loving Father.
God is a wonderful parent. We still feel the consequence of Eve’s sin … of our own sin … yet we can’t remember how bad it felt. Just that it hurt. Whether it be in childbirth or simply in our daily life, God works in and through us to discipline us. By that same token, in His deep love, He forgets. Only a great Father could have devised such a miraculous love.
Yep … today is my birthday. The real one. The day God told my mother, “It’s time.” And the day He breathed life into me outside of my mother’s womb. I’m grateful. Grateful for my pain of childbirth so I could see the joy in my sons.
When pain rips open your heart, remember the incredible gift God has given—to remember the pain, but forget the anguish.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Cindy K. Sproles is a best-selling, award-winning author. She is a speaker and a conference teacher who teaches nationwide. Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries, www.christiandevotions.us, and www.inspireafire.com. She serves as a writing mentor with WRAMS (Writing Write Author Mentoring Service) and is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.