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by Joyce Milton
What wonderful plan do you have for your next birthday? When Colleen, a youthful mother of six, turned 40, her husband and his cohorts threw her a surprise party with a ‘50’s theme. They even had a retro outfit, complete with high heels, ready for her to put on. Was she really surprised? Well, 75 people saw her without makeup, and I thought she was going to maim her husband. She recovered and had a wonderful time.
My creative friend Mandy planned her own celebration last year, inviting friends from her college group at one church and a discipleship program at another. She even lined up a worship team and gave them a song list. Her family provided the cake and decorations, and she had a blast watching her worlds intersect.
When did birthdays stop being fun?
How about you? Are you looking forward to your next birthday, or does the thought of it make you shudder? Do you ever find yourself wishing you could skip a year, since the annual event only seems to remind you that you’re looking less like a runway model every year?
Let’s face it, the day that’s supposed to include a special the – world – revolves – around - you celebration may instead be tinged with a depressing ache of unfulfilled dreams…a dull, throbbing reminder that your days are numbered.
How does this happen to so many of us as we age? Who robbed us of a wonderful excuse to celebrate life—even if we make the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting cake ourselves? The writer of the Proverbs tells us to look to the ant to gain insight. I, on the other hand, ask you to turn your attention to chocolate, and see if there isn’t some understanding in the story of a young girl’s pleasure.
A lesson in chocolate
Step with me into one of my earliest memories. When I close my eyes, I can still see myself at Hart’s Department Store with my parents. There was something sparkling about those treat days, when a side order of mashed potatoes—my favorite non-dessert to this day—was the perfect lunch. I could hardly wait to finish and go to the candy counter, place my order and hold in my hands that small white paper bag, folded neatly to hide a nickel’s worth of malt balls. I loved the chocolate-covered candies that would literally melt in my mouth, a reward for my patient delight.
Now let’s fast forward fifty years to my first visit to Hong Kong, when I found myself in the candy department of a corner market. Bright red boxes marked Maltese caught my eye, so I read the label. Malt balls in Hong Kong…who knew? But a closer look sent me into a spasm of delight, a burst of loud, happy, American words, words that probably included, “Duuuuuude.”
You see, Maltese makes regular, boring malt balls, but — oh, happy day — they also make them in dark chocolate, which is the best. No matter what you think. I got in line, put what I hoped was the right kind of money in the cashier’s hand, and the deal was sealed.
I was in chocolate heaven for the rest of the trip to Beijing, doling out a few pieces at a time, savoring every bite: little bits of a personal party inside my mouth as I watched the amazing Chinese landscape fly by from the window of the train.
Finding new things under the sun
My experience with chocolate malt balls is a great illustration of the way I feel about birthdays. Who knows, who can even imagine what wonders the world still holds for the young at heart? The writer of Ecclesiastes was right…there’s nothing new under the sun. But who’s experienced everything under the sun? If there are dark chocolate malt balls—and, for that matter, the individual chocolate lava cakes I met recently!—what other joys still wait to be discovered?
Of course, this is not just about chocolate. There’s a wonderful brand of chocolate made in California called Helen Grace, and that’s brings me to the point. Celebrating life takes God’s help, the help we often call grace.
Grace, it has been said, means that God understands. And He does. He understands that life has a way of robbing our innocent belief that we can take the good parts for granted. We have serious concerns; we have aches and pains and problems that can rob our joy, if we let that happen. But with the temptation to be cynical and bitter comes a promised way of escape, a gracing that helps us see the best and chill out about the rest. It’s a choice.
Reclaim your birthday
What if, instead, we choose to let every candle on every birthday cake remind us of the added light of wisdom that grace brings? Why not toss a handful of confetti all over the living room in gratitude for the knowledge that every little bad thing doesn’t mean the world is ending, and every little wonder — a baby’s laugh, a box of dark chocolate malt balls, a shared moment of insight — can now be more fully experienced and appreciated?
This shift in perspective must be intentional. Why not begin your next birthday celebration today by starting a log of the wonders your wise eyes see tucked away in the folds of everyday life?
If you keep at it, by the time your birthday rolls around, it may turn out to be the best present you’ve ever received.
More reasons to celebrate:
The Ressurection: Reson to rejoice
Enjoying the seasons of life
