I will turn 57 next week. How did that happen?

Just yesterday I was a girl, and a teen, and a college student, and in seminary, and preaching in my first pulpit, and a bride, and a 30ish mom, and . . . well you get the point.

Memory is a funny thing. Inside our heads and hearts, we live in multiple times and places. I can remember doing cartwheels, but I certainly can’t do one now. I remember when I could sit on my hair, but when I swing my head back, there’s nothing swaying behind me. I can remember the sweetest sensations of holding my new babies against me, and now they are both big, whiskery, sweaty young adults.

I have lost much in the last 57 years: my youth, my dexterity, my parents, many pets, some of my dreams. I have also gained a lot: knowledge, understanding, insight, skills, friends, husband & kids.

As I say to others on their birthdays, it beats the alternative! No more birthdays means this life is over. I don’t feel ready for that yet.

Happy birthday to me! Time for another trip around the sun!

In wisdom, grace, and hope,

Rev. Ruth