A good friend once said that wedding anniversaries were more significant than birthdays. He made a good point that I’ve since repeated to others. Birthdays just come around year after year. You don’t need to do anything. Whereas wedding anniversaries take work. You need to keep investing in the marriage or you might not get to your next anniversary.

Yesterday was my birthday and I received many wonderful greetings—mainly via Facebook, the new greeting card! Many of the comments were very similar and they made me stop and think about whether he was entirely right. Let me share a few:

Happy birthday Macca! Praise God for another year. Hope you have a great day!

have a great day… thanking the Lord you’re still here with us and for your ongoing ministry…

Happy Birthday Dave! It is wonderful to celebrate another year!!!

Happy, happy birthday! Thanking God for the gift of the last 365 days and all that has happened since your last trip around the sun. Lotsa love

Happy birthday Dave! Thanks to God for another one!

Happy birthday cus! Glad you’re here to see another one.

Happy Birthday! May God bless you! And give you many more!

What thankfulness that you can celebrate another birthday! Have a great one!

Happy birthday Dave! Thanks to God for another one!

Happy birthday Macca! Glad God gave you another one.

I don’t expect everyone receives birthday greetings like these. I’d describe them as joyful and thankful, with significant undertones of sobriety. They are a reminder that birthdays don’t just come around. There were no guarantees last year that I’d celebrate another this year. Mind you—there aren’t ever any guarantees, for me or for you. I see the last year as a gift from God. It’s his grace that has preserved me for another year.

And I’m praying that his grace will sustain me for many more birthdays—and wedding anniversaries—for years to come.

Thanks for all your greetings!

(first published in macarisms.com on 13/8/13)