Oh hey birthday.

20 years. 1,043 weeks. 7,304 days. 175,316 hours. 10,518,975 minutes. 631,138,519 seconds. That my friends is how long Laura Ecklund has been alive. It has been a wonderful birthday full of friends, conversations, and studying, lots of studying. By far the highlight of my day was going over to Professor Jackie Smallbones house with Morgan and sipping on tea and eating cookies while hearing about all of her South African adventures and some life stories, truly an honor to hear such wisdom from a lady of the Lord.

Anyways, birthdays are always interesting for me. This time of year rolls around every year, go figure, and I feel somewhat weird. It's good and all to celebrate but I feel slightly out of place celebrating me.  I am not the one who brought me into this world. I did nothing to deserve the 20 years of life I've experienced. All of these happy birthdays a great but I believe my heart longs for the gratification and satisfaction to go fully to the Lord who created me and who is the reason this special day exists.
"Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." Genesis 2:7  
"Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you." Psalm 71:6
"As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." Ephesians 1:4 
Thank you Lord for life and life abundantly. Thank you for leading me in truth and guiding me in the Spirit. Thank you for forming me and bringing me into being to glorify your name. Thank you for chances to celebrate. Thank you for encouraging me through the support and appreciation of friends. God thank you so much for redemption from the years, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds that I have not glorified you and yet continually lavishing your love on me. Thank you Lord, you are so good.

May this 20th birthday not bring glory to me but rather my Father in Heaven who brought me into existence fully for his glory.

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