by Jeanni Ritchie
Happy Birthday!
It’s my birthday month. Like many who deem a day or a weekend not enough to properly celebrate, I get excited when September rolls around. It feels like the month belongs to me.
I’ve always been a big birthday celebrator. My parents threw us themed parties every year and I remember decorations of Holly Hobbie, Raggedy Ann, Ms. Pac-Man, Smurfette, and Barbie. There were also swim birthday parties and sleepovers. Growing a year older was a cause for commemoration. Life was meant to be celebrated.
I attended many birthday parties as a child as well. I especially loved slumber parties! The 90’s was one birthday party after another as invitations lined my kids’ backpacks weekly. It was the era of “all classmates must be invited” and it was my personal mission to see that no child blew out their candles alone.
When I founded a homeless ministry in South Mississippi, birthdays were a crucial component. Not only did I celebrate one of my own birthdays by hosting a free fish fry in a community park near a homeless encampment, I kept a list of birthdays and favorite cakes for those on the streets.
I wanted them to know their lives mattered. Some shared they hadn’t had a birthday cake since their mom had passed away in childhood. Others had never had one. It didn’t matter that I was no Betty Crocker. My pineapples slid off the top in my first-ever attempt at a pineapple upside down cake. But when I presented it, the smile and thankfulness received was greater than any prize-winning blue ribbon.
Birthdays matter because LIFE matters.
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7
We are made alive by God Himself. Every life is for a purpose. Every life should be celebrated.
Even if you want to celebrate all month long!
You can reach me at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.
