When I was a little boy and when all the hype and waiting for Christmas were over, I would always looked forward to the month of January. Not because of the New Year or the back to school schedule, but because my birthday falls in January. Later in school, I would learn that it was also the birthmonth of three of my best friends whom I spent my growing up years with.
Come to think of it, there was nothing special about the birthdays of my childhood and early youth. I don’t remember any children’s party that celebrated my 7th birthday, for instance. Instead, I remember that the birthdays of my youth were simply a day for me to rejoice in the fact that I have grown taller; and then that I was already eligible to start school in Grade 1 when I reached seven years of age; and much later when I hit thirteen, that I could wear my first long pants, go to parties and start to be cute with the girls.
Then as I went through high school, my birthdays became days to plan ahead for the future: what I would like to be, what course to take in college. And then much later, as a young adult in the seminary, they became days not only to look forward to and plan for the future but also to assess my situation then with the questions: where am I now and why am I here? That was when I started to question my vocation.
Today, as I turn to be an elderly senior citizen, I find myself looking back and remembering the past instead of looking forward to and planning for the future. And the feeling that is foremost in my heart is nothing but gratefulness for everything that the good Lord has thrown my way as I journey – blessings received from the right things I have done as well as lessons learned from the mistakes I have made.
Today also, I entrust everything to the good Lord for whatever the future brings as I play the cards I have been dealt with.
Finally today, I look back with gratitude in my heart and contemplate the future with hope.
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