It’s 9:34pm and I usually have my daily devos written by now, but it’s been a busy day and this is the first opportunity I’ve had.

Tomorrow, the 26th, is my 32nd birthday.

32 is not exactly a “milestone” birthday. ONE is a milestone birthday. Ten is too. And thirteen. Eighteen and twenty one. Those are milestone birthdays. Thirty is the big one. No one talks about turning 32. It’s just a number.

But it means something to me.

I was baptized in the year 2000, just a few weeks away from my 16th birthday. Now that I’m turning 32 I realize (thanks to math!) that I have, since my baptism, been living a faithful Christian life for 16 years. In other words, literally half my life has now been spent as a citizen of the kingdom of Christ. Half my life has been spent washed in the blood of the lamb. Half my life has been spent ensconced in the comforts of the God’s tender arms. Half my life has been spent devoted to studying God’s precious Word.

For many, birthdays are a source of anxiety and depression. Some people just don’t like the idea that they’re getting older. Not me. To me, there’s no better present than the time. From now on, I will be living more of my life as a Christian than I ever lived outside of Christ. The longer I live by the Grace of God, the more in the rear-view mirror my old life becomes.

That’s a wonderful and encouraging thought, and thanks be to the Savior who made it possible.

Here’s to the next 32, God willing.