Although my birthday ended up not so horrendously, I was not completely caught off guard by what came later that day. I had not had an eye exam since 2000 when the doctor informed me I no longer needed glasses or contacts to correct my vision, but I had been experiencing some "visible" changes when it came to reading and TV and computer usage in previous months. When I called to make appointments for Chris and me, I just took the first day she had available. It took several days for me to realize that I was gifting myself with an eye doctor appointment. Meanwhile, the optometrist also had a little gift for me... a brand new prescription for eye glasses. Happy birthday to me.
After all the trepidation of turning thirty, I now realize that my older and wiser friends and family were right, I was worried for nothing. Not only did I not wake up with wrinkles, gray hair, or an overwhelming urge to have dinner at 5:30, but I really began thinking about how blessed I am to have made it to thirty and to have a wonderful husband, three amazing kids, and an extended family who is so loving, giving, and extremely supportive. It would take me another thirty years just to count all those blessings. Now, I know that my new glasses don't have some magic power that has helped me see that my fear or stress or whatever it was that I faced in entering this new decade in my life, but I do believe that they weren't the only new thing I received that day. I was gifted with a brand new perspective. God has shown me that age is just a number that we can either fear or live out to the fullest. Although I haven't fully rejoiced in turning thirty, I now see it as just another time of celebration rather than a fearful one of regrets and worries. One of these days, I will wake up with those gray hairs and wrinkles, but I discovered an amazing verse this weekend that kind of makes me wish for that silver to start cropping up. "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life." Proverbs 16:31
