HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. That’s right, today is my birthday, and not just an ordinary birthday. It’s a watershed, decade-beginning birthday. In fact, it’s the one where people don’t send black balloons and mean cards anymore. They’re actually sending nice cards, congratulations for getting this far. At any rate, all of this has prompted me to think about my life so far.

First of all, I have to remember that God has a plan for me. It says in the Bible that He knew me before I was born and had a plan for me even then. How has His plan worked out so far? It’s hard to choose what to remember, but here are a few things in my plan that God has helped with.

My husband, Joe, was an Air Force pilot for 27 years. This meant lots of moves – 17 in fact. Just try convincing your children that saying goodbye to all their friends, their school, their state is a good thing. And yet, God always made it work out. We’d pack up, head out, have a few adventures along the way and get to our new home. There would always be good people waiting, new friends to be made and a welcoming church. Every time, it worked out.

Then there was the year we lost two parents, Joe’s dad and my mom. We were fairly young, and it was very hard for us. God spoke to us and let us know we could lean on Him. We’d be sad, and it would be hard, but God would see us through.

There were also joyous moments in God’s plan. We were wondering if we’d ever be grandparents, and by God’s great mercy, with the help of our son and daughter-in-law, we became grandparents. What a wonderful gift. We have had so many great gifts – wonderful people all over the country, beautiful treasures of natural beauty from Macaws in the trees in Laredo, Texas, to starry, endless skies in North Dakota, to the sun gleaming off the snow at Lake Tahoe. These gifts, bestowed on us, have been awesome.

God’s plan for me has been working now for 60 years. What a gift! I can hardly wait to see what happens next!

— Bev Kinego

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist