birthdays and friendships

So today I was pondering the fact that in one month I will be 34 years old. And how strange that seems. And I thought back over past birthdays.... some very memorable and I thought... Isn't God good? He is so good to give me dear friends who love me even when I fail and who let me love them even when they fail. Friends who strive to make each birthday special. Do you all even know how much that means to me? I cannot put the value of that into words.

One year a friend brought me flowers to my place of work. That was actually the first time anyone had ever bought me flowers!

One year some people managed to pull off a big surprise birthday party for me... the amazing part to me.... is that many of you managed to avoid me to keep from spoiling the surprise! And some people drove from as far away as 3 hours!

Last year a friend arranged for me to have a massage... I was at a conference that I was organizing on that birthday. So that was a very special and unique blessing. memorable

I have had many birthdays where I shared celebrations with a roommate or a dear friend. (sometimes they were one and the same!) :-)

One year I was in a friend's wedding on my birthday... that was cool... I loved that she and her mom got me a maple glazed donut with a candle on it while we were all getting our hair done.

When I turned 20 I was living in Austria... that was memorable

One year I was in North Africa with dear friends and they arranged notes from many of you to give me throughout the day... and the passport control man wished me a happy birthday too!

There are many more that I recall and many more to come I am sure.

Anyway, I thank God that He has allowed me to have such varied experiences. And I am SO thankful that each birthday I have been able to have at least one or two dear friends with me. For there is nothing I enjoy more than the company of a good friend. And you all know who you are in the above memories right? Good times