Each Year Gets Better
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 05:08PM 
Rocco: A Great ManI am sitting down to write this post on my 35th birthday. It has been a wonderfully regular day filled with sweets for my tummy and sweets for my soul in the form of well-wishes from friends and family. I love birthdays. I love them now nearly as much as I loved them growing up. As a child, birthdays were about the presents. I could not wait to pretend that I hadn't peeked in my parents' closet and seen my gift ahead of time. Usually, it was baseball-related and many times these days it is also baseball-related.
For some reason, as we age in our culture, birthdays become somewhat of a taboo. We'll use phrases like "I'm turning 23 again" or "I don't really like to say my age." You know, I actually do like to state my age and I definitely passed 23 a while ago (that was my first year at CTCS!). Rather than having a negative outlook on growing older, I feel that I've got two great reasons to be excited about each year as it passes.
First, each birthday and year represents growth, wisdom and experience that would not have come otherwise. I am certainly glad that I'm not 12 anymore, and I most definitely do not want to be 12 again! To put it bluntly, I was a knucklehead! I was uncomfortable in my own skin and knew next-to-nothing about how life worked. I also don't have any desire to be 7, 17 or 27 again, for a bunch of reasons. I am comfortable and excited about being 35. I am married to a wonderful woman, have two beautiful kids, hold my dream job and more. Why would I ever want to get younger?!?!?
Secondly, as I get older, I get closer to heaven. The question I have to ask myself is, "Do I believe what I say I believe?" I believe that I will go to heaven when I die. My personal relationship with Jesus will someday culminate in my entrance to that incredible place. If I believe that, each year that passes should be a celebration of the fact that I will one day live forever with Jesus in a sweet mansion that he has built for me.
Just last week a friend of mine passed away far too early by human standards. I will miss him, and his family will long for him daily. The one thing I am happy about is that my friend, Rocco, is in the presence of God. On my birthday, he is observing from heaven saying, "Cool John, you're just a little bit closer to getting here...and it is amazing!" I'm also sure that he's sitting down for a bowl of ice cream with my Grandpa:)
I am grateful for every day that God gives me on this earth. I will also be completely stoked when I get to join Him in heaven. As I celebrate today, I am committed to taking advantage of the opportunities the Lord has blessed me with. As long as He allows me to breathe, I want to be a supportive husband, a Godly father and a devoted Christ-follower. I hope I have many more years to do this, so I will happily celebrate each year...hopefully that means carrot cake and baseball-related gifts for years to come!