Say It’s Your Birthday….

The other day I was scrolling through the photos on my phone looking for something or other when I came across all the pics from our granddaughter Caroline’s 10-year-old trip. If somehow you missed this epic story last year, let me tell you just what a 10-year-old trip is. Joe and I decided a few years ago that when each of our grandbabies is 10 years old, we would take that kiddo on a trip somewhere in the continental United States—just the three of us. And…the kiddo gets to decide where he or she wants to go and what to do (with a little coaxing from Mimi and PopPop). Caroline chose an RV trip, and we helped her choose Niagara Falls as our destination with several other stops along the way. The actual name of Caroline’s trip was Caroline’s Awesome RV Adventure.

While we made so many sweet, precious, funny memories during that trip, one of my favorites was helping Caroline find her birthday verse. Caroline hadn’t heard of birthday verses before, and maybe you haven’t either. A birthday verse matches your birthday—month and day—surprise! The way you find one that speaks to you is to go through every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, looking up the verses that correspond to your birthday month and day—the month being the book chapter and the day being the verse from that chapter. Pretty simple really. (Though not every book of the Bible will have a birthday corresponding chapter and verse, especially if your birthday is later in the month as some chapters don’t have 31 verses, and some don’t even have two chapters.)

My birthday is May 18^th, and the birthday verse I chose several years ago is 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Love that verse, and so thankful it fell on my birthday! It reminds me that because I have Jesus, I always have reason to be thankful no matter the circumstances. And don’t you love when Scripture is so clear? “This is God’s will for you,” can’t get much clearer than that when it can sometimes feel God’s will is shrouded in mystery, decision making, and doubt. Be thankful, always.

So on Caroline’s Awesome RV Adventure, we sat down with my Bible (while PopPop drove over 2,000 miles) and Caroline looked up chapter 4 verse 4 (April 4^th) in every book from Genesis to Revelation. She jotted down a few that had potential, but when she got to Philippians 4:4, she knew she had found the birthday verse for her: Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Look at that joyful face as she wrote her new birthday verse in her journal. A very precious memory for Mimi.

Caroline and I also talked a little bit about life verses, different than birthday verses. Life verses can be so meaningful to you that, truly, you come to base your life around them. They can speak that deeply to your heart. We didn’t spend time looking for a life verse for Caroline. Life verses aren’t found by searching for them; they more likely tend to find you.

Two have found me. One speaks to how God has met me in my deepest need. Psalm 27:10, Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. Those words bring such comfort to my deeply wounded heart. The second speaks to the deepest desire of my heart. Psalm 115:1, Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Let my life bring praise and glory to the name of Jesus—my deepest desire. A close second to Psalm 115:1 (or I guess it could be my third life verse) is the simple little verse Paul wrote in Galatians 1:24, And they praised God because of me. Oh that I would live a life worthy of inscribing that verse on my tombstone!

Lord, help me to live a life that brings you praise, honor, and glory. Not to us, O Lord, not to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

P.S. I would love to know the what and why of your birthday and/or life verses. Drop a comment below.