On November 21, 2020, I turned 23 years old.
I've never been a big "birthday" person. I don't dress up or throw big parties — in fact, even as a teenager, I cancelled all my sweet 16 party plans and requested my mom spend the money on a vacation to Puerto Rico with my two closest friends!
More recently, I even removed my birthday from my Facebook page so I would feel a little less guilty receiving all those "happy birthdays" from childhood acquaintances that I never think to return.
However, even though I don't celebrate much publicly, I usually do genuinely enjoy my birthday. I use the time to reflect, set new goals, practice some self care, or go on an adventure either by myself or with a small group of close friends.
For birthday number 23, I set the intention to make this my Psalm 23 year.
Year 22 rocked me in a lot of ways. I celebrated that birthday by taking a solo backpacking trip to Peru, a month later I moved to Australia, I somehow survived my first year of medical school, and oh yea — there was a global pandemic or something like that?
Right now, I am craving some serious rest and restoration and how perfect is it that the Psalm that matches my birthday number is a poem about just that!
There is a confidence that David, the author of this poem, has that I love:
"I shall not want"
"I will fear no evil"
"My cup overflows"
"Goodness and mercy shall follow me!"
I want to meditate on this Psalm as an affirmation to end my early-twenties. I want to be confident that no matter what happens, no matter how crazy the world gets, no matter how impossible my situation may seem, I have a God that graciously guides me to a place where I can rest and anoints me in His abundant love.
Cheers to a calm and confident chapter 23!
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