Happy Birthday!

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I know it is for alot of people but it has special significance for me because my birthday falls just 2 days after Christmas. In fact, my parents named me Wendi Noel, which means Christmas. I used to resent having to share my birthday with Jesus because my birthday always seemed to be an afterthought. I mean, it's not like my birthday holds the same significance as Jesus, right? My parents always tried to make it special for me though by putting away all the Christmas decorations on December 26th so that the 27th was just for me. The significance of my birthday has changed though as I've gotten older. I look now at my birthday, not as a celebration of ME, but more of a celebration of another year of life. With that celebration comes the gift of looking forward to the year to come and the gift of life that still awaits me. Face it, if you are celebrating your birthday, you are still alive and that's worth celebrating! So, with that in mind, each year we celebrate Christ's birthday on December 25th (though we are not sure what the actual date of His birth really is.) Since customarily we do not celebrate birthdays if you are dead, doesn't that mean an overwhelming acceptance that Jesus Christ is still alive? Ask anyone who celebrates Christmas what the holiday is for and they will tell you "Jesus' birth" whether or not they choose to accept His existence as real. Without realizing it, people set up trees, decorate their homes, give gifts, prepare food, send cards, and visit family all in celebration of not just a baby's birth, but the fact that He is still alive! His life continues to be worth celebrating each and every year. Happy birthday, Jesus!!