You Say It's Your Birthday...

"A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth." - Ecclesiastes 7:1

Today, April 8th, is my birthday. It's funny how the older one gets, the more anticlimactic birthdays become. I've always believed that they (whoever 'they' are) should make it so that no one has to work on their birthday. That should go for all that person's loved ones as well. Everyone associated with the birthday boy or girl should have the day off, in order for them to be catered to, as royalty. From the moment a person wakes up on their birthday, there should be music, dancing, presents, cake, and various adult beverages showered upon them. Poems and other works of art should be created in their honor and shared from the highest of rooftops for all to hear and see. Radio stations should be given a list of songs, favorites of the birthday honoree, to be played continuously all the day long. Upon seeing proof of birth date, all restaurants should provide all-you-can-eat-free buffets, all amusement parks, movie theaters, and zoos should provide free admittance, and Starbucks should always throw in an extra shot for nothing!

A person's birthday should be... awesome! When you lay your head down on your pillow at the end of your birthday, you should be in a deliriously joyful haze... wishing you could do it all over again, and again, and again.

But in the real world, you have to go to work... and dump the garbage... and the restaurant you picked for breakfast only had one waitress working 'cause all the rest called in sick, and she's not about to sing to you, let alone bring you a free dish of vanilla ice cream with a small candle in it.

I wonder if that's why the Holy Spirit inspired the joy-inspiring pessimist who wrote the poem of Ecclesiastes to say that a person's death-day was actually better than their birth-day? Or maybe they just realized that death, although a sad thing, is a better time to reflect on a person's life, character,... good name? I mean, as sad as the death of a pre-born or young child may be, the death of one who has lived a longer life is of greater sadness, at least in the Jewish mindset. Why? Because, the longer one lives the better we are able to know their character. This quote from Mendele Mokher Seforim says, “Among the Jews, a birthday is no holiday, but the anniversary of a death, that a Jew remembers.” *

On this, my birthday, I am reminded that I'm getting older. Statistics state that I may well have passed the half-way point of this life. So, I'm asking questions today. Questions like: If it were not my birth-day, but my death-day... what would I have left behind? How is my character? Is my name good, better than fine perfume? In other words, does my reputation stink... or not? I desperately want to be a man that reeks... of the fragrance of Jesus. I long for Him to be what consumes my thoughts and my behaviors.

When all that becomes the case, perhaps I'll be able to say, along with the apostle Paul, "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" (1 Corinthians 15:55), because my death-day will be better than any birth-day I've ever had, or could have ever imagined!

*Telushkin, Joseph. Jewish Wisdom. New York: W. Morrow, 1994.

Letter to my son

Today is my son, Caleb's, birthday. I wrote him a "birthday" letter and Kelli thought I should share it here with all of you. He's a special kid and I'm truly a blessed Dad.

Dear Caleb Andrew,

Today, December 30th, 2010 is your fourteenth birthday. Last year, at this time, you and I got to go to Florida and hang out together. I sorta wish I could go back in time, because that was truly awesome for me. It was a memory I’ll never forget. Now you are one year older. You’re not just “becoming a teenager”, you ARE a teenager! It seems so strange to me to see you getting older.

Of course, like all parents, I wish I could freeze time and make you stay small forever. I miss you being a little guy that I carried on my back and wrestled with and threw 15 feet in the air to watch you belly-flop into the pool. Now you could carry me on your back, kick my butt in wrestling, and push me into the pool whenever you wanted! Well,… almost. =)

Anyway… I want you to know how proud I am of you. I think you are a great person and you’ve grown into an awesome young man. You probably don’t know this… but I watch you… a lot. I see you talking with your friends. I see you playing with children that are way smaller than you. I watched you be an awesome brother to Maria, even though she was hard to relate to at times. I watch you with your brothers and Michaela and Merci.

I watch you Caleb… and I’m really proud of you.

When Mom and I were thinking of a name for you, we chose Caleb Andrew for a reason. Not necessarily because those two names mean something cool, but because of those two characters in the Bible.

Caleb was a spy. Actually, there were 12 spies that were chosen, out of all of God’s people, to sneak into the “Promised Land”. They did and they saw some killer stuff, including lots of food and water… and scary giants. Caleb and Joshua were the only ones, out of the 12, that told the leadership that they should definitely go into the Promised Land. But the other 10 spies all said, “No way! The giants are way too big! We’ll all be killed if we try and go in there!” Because of these 10 guys’ report, God’s people chickened out and didn’t do what He wanted them to do. However, Caleb and Joshua will always be considered studs for being brave enough to do whatever it takes to obey God. We chose Caleb, because he was a stud… a radical for God.

Andrew was one of Jesus’ disciples. He is one of the guys that doesn’t get mentioned very often in the Bible, however, when he is mentioned… he’s bringing people to Jesus! For example, he brought his brother to Jesus, and the kid with the lunch of fish and bread too. We think this is something that God is going to do with you.

When you put these two names together: Caleb Andrew – I get the picture of a radical guy, who doesn’t care what anyone else may think, all he cares about is what God thinks. A guy who is brave and doesn’t mind being quietly in the background, as long as he can be a part of helping someone else see Jesus. This is Mom’s and my prayer for you Caleb. That you would always be different than the rest of the crowd (all the other wimpy spies who call themselves God-followers, but are too wimpy to ever really take a stand for Him). You are definitely becoming that kind of person. I see it in you and the way that you are. This is why I am so proud of you.

I love you more than anything, son. I hope you know that.

As always, you must remember that I am always here for you. If you are going through something, or if you ever need to talk, I hope you’ll come to me. I love you 5, buddy… and I ALWAYS will.

Happy Birthday,
love Dad