My beautiful firstborn daughter recently celebrated her birthday.
She has two younger siblings, they are also beautiful. The three of them together bring joy to my soul by just being themselves. Yet someone had to be first and so it is that this daughter is my firstborn daughter. I remember the time of her birth very well. There were significant things taking place at the time in my life, but looking back nothing was as significant as her birth.
At that time, I held her in my arms, rocked her gently and sang her song. Her song written for her about her and the connection she has to who matters most in life and what matters most.
Today, I cannot hold her like that in my arms at all. She is far too tall and she’s getting taller by the year. Everyone in our household would laugh if I even dared to make the effort to hold her in the same way, though I don’t think I’d be laughing long once my back went out. The song for her, however, is all the more important than it was all those year ago.
The birthday signifies the start of a new day for her. Sure it’s a new year in her life, but even more importantly it’s a brand new day. What I mean by ‘day’, though, is not confined to the 24 hour cycle we have defined it. Looking at her development as a human being days for her have not been as regular as those units of measurement.
One day she was a baby. Another day she was a toddler. Another day she was wearing a school uniform. Today she is at the stage where she’s taking serious thought and consideration as to who she feels she is – taking ownership and responsibility for her identity. Although legally a dependent, in many ways we can see her development into independence and soon to learn more about what interdependence is from her own perspective.
All this took place from day to day, but those days were not measured in seconds, minutes, hours and months. Yet I knew one day had ended and another began.
Similarly reflecting on my life it’s clear where one day was over and a new day began. The best new day, however, remains that new day that started on realising the new to be found in Christ. It’s my hope and prayer that my daughters experience that new day. Even in that, though, it’s not just one day. Growth can be seen from one day to another even if the definition of those days don’t fit what units of measurement some adhere to.
It’s something to celebrate, however, when we can recognise when one day comes to an end and the new day begins.
Even as I celebrate the growth of my daughter from day to day, so we can celebrate our own growth in knowing what life is all about. Especially as we recognise it day by day.
(Photo by Billy Huynh on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 