I like birthdays. For all of the obvious reasons, of course; gifts,  food, parties, family coming together, laughter, teasing. But birthdays are more than this. They are a time when we can press the "pause button" of life for a day.

From late August to early September, we have four birthdays in our family. And as I hit that "pause button" and think about each of the four persons, I was very moved by what I saw.

Our 14 year old granddaughter was no longer a little girl. She had become a beautiful, thoughtful, sensitive, caring young woman. Our mid 40's son does many of the soccer trips, understands the barbs coming from their teenage kids he loves dearly, answers their questions, loves their mom, and runs a business... all with deep caring. Our 18 year old grandson... taller than me, with definite views and goals, and a refreshing sense of humor. And my birthday, to stop and see the love all around me: my wife, our sons, daughters in law, and 7 grandkids. The gifts, parties, are great, but the connections are the source of life.

But there are two other thoughts that are a part of the "pause button."  This is a time to look back. To remember when they were little kids, babies, when we were first married, my parents, life on the dairy farm as a boy. It is a great time to reflect. The danger at my age is to get stuck here. It is easier to live in the past. I know the outcome of that story.

More important is to look to the future. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, says, "my single purpose in life is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead." I don't want to forget everything behind me. Too much of it is rich and precious and makes today a bit better. However, God's energy, life's energy moves forward.

With each passing day these 7 grandkids get more and more interesting. It was decided for my birthday that I needed a new cell phone. "But," I argue, "mine still works fine." "When did you have a last upgrade? Does it take pictures? Can you text? The answer to all of these was obvious and we headed to the phone store. I am now in the middle of a rather steep learning curve.  I need to be in a learning curve. I need to "reach for what is ahead."

Whether it is to be current... or as Paul suggests, "to grow closer to Christ in my faith", it is important to reach for what is ahead.

When you birthday comes, will you take some time to press the "pause button"?