Happy LifeDay!

It’s February 16, 2009...my mother’s birthday. She would have been 77 years old today, if she hadn’t gone home to Heaven on April 1, 1996. So, I called my Daddy, like I do every year on her birthday...feeling the need to acknowledge the day with someone.

Birthdays were special to Mother, and she always did her best to make sure ours were special too. Have you ever noticed that people make the biggest fuss over others on the occasions that mean the most to themselves? For instance, if someone doesn’t really care about Valentine’s Day, they will be more likely to forget to buy a Valentine for their loved one. It doesn’t mean they love their “Valentine” any less...it’s only the celebration of the day that fails to hit the top of their priority list.

I think Mother would appreciate the fact that we still remember her birthday. But I imagine the day has slid down her priority list a bit by now. For Christians, our “death-day” should be even more worthy of celebration than our “birth-day.” Maybe we should actually call it our “life-day,” since that’s the day we begin celebrating eternal life in Heaven.

Think about it...the only celebration that Jesus installed in memory of himself was the Lord’s Supper—in remembrance of his death. Although we all enjoy celebrating Jesus’ birth at Christmas, that celebration was actually OUR idea...not his.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints...Psalm 116:15

I don’t think that means that the Lord takes pleasure in the death process, which is often painful and full of suffering. I think the Lord just knows that death is the doorway through which his saints walk to get to indescribable joy and reward on the other side.

So...I’m going to allow myself to remember Mother’s birthday each year, because it’s a day worth remembering—just like Christmas is a day worth remembering. But I’m also going to try and CELEBRATE my mother’s “lifeday” every April 1st. After all, I believe that’s the day that means the most to her now.