thoughts on a birthday

So it's my birthday . . . I celebrated by getting up and going to tennis, and then played a rousing game of NCAA Football 2006. (Which I won 52-21 GO V-tech) I then ate some breakfast and as a treat, decided to skip a class so I can finish a paper that is due today.

I promptly checked my facebook every few hours to see if anyone had dropped me a “happy birthday.” Got one from an ex, two from friends back home I never talk to anymore, and one from the cute girl that serves me coffee. I thought that was a nice gesture on all accounts.

You might ask,” So why are you putting this up Aaron?” You would state, “You promised you wouldn’t just update us on your life. You said that you would only do stuff on here that you really thought mattered ... Well I am getting to that.

I have found that birthdays just don’t seem as important as I get older. The fun stuff and parties as a kid have passed and I don’t get a new bike every year, nor do I get a new video game. The best I can hope for is a good time with the boys out at B-dubs or Steak n’ Shake. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of those, I am just saying stuff changes.

Now I look at my Christian walk, and I wonder if I have done the same thing. Sunday Service has become a time for me to “learn about how to do ministry,” rather than worship God. Instead of celebrating the fact that I go to a Christian school and have the opportunity to worship God with my classmates, I complain about how boring chapel was and why don’t they tone down the music a bit and stop bringing in speakers that are not “theologically sound”.

I feel like the “newness” of Christianity has worn off. I find myself trudging along not really as in love with Jesus as I may have once been. I find myself cleaning dishes while others sit at his feet. I find myself celebrating another “birthday” without the party and bike.

Now, I suppose that the parties and bikes have to go for all of us, and I realize that “mature faith” needs to grow up as well. However, my prayer is I can get back to the faith of an 8-year-old kid waiting for his birthday party to begin.
I want to party.


Lyrics that have made me think even more deeply about this. Jars of Clay "Like a child"

Dear God
Surround me as I speak
The bridges that I walk across are weak
And the frustrations fill the void that
I can't solely bear

Dear God
Don't let me fall apart
You've held me close to You
But I have turned away
And searched for answers
I can't understand

They say that I can move the mountains
And send them falling to the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
With Faith Like a Child

Sometimes
When I feel miles away
And my eyes can't see Your face
Well I wonder if I've grown to lose
The recklessness I walked in light of You

They say that I can move the mountains
And send them crashing to the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
With faith Like a Child

They say that I can move the mountains
And send them crashing to the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
They say that love can heal the broken
They say that hope can make you see
They say that faith can find a Savior
If you would follow and believe
With faith Like a Child