My Birthday

I HAVE TWO BIRTHDAYS… BUT ONLY ONE OF THEM CHANGED MY ETERNITY.

September 12

That’s the day I was born. I came into this world on a Thursday, around 4:00 in the afternoon. And now, somehow, I’m getting ready to turn 63 years old. But there is another date on my calendar that means even more to me…

September 5, 1995.

That is the day I was born again.

You might be thinking, “Oh boy… here she goes with that old religious stuff.”

Hang on. Just give me a minute. Because this isn’t about religion.

It’s about a life that was changed.

September 12, 1963 was the day I was born into this world.

September 5, 1995 was the day I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life trying to run my own.

That was the day I surrendered my “right” to live life my way.

My plans.

My wants.

My control.

My mistakes.

My regrets.

My shame.

I gave it all to Jesus.

And no, I didn’t suddenly become perfect.

I still mess up.

I still make mistakes.

I still have days when I don’t get it right.

But something changed.

I wasn’t the same person anymore.

Jesus said in John 3:3:

“Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus didn’t understand. He actually asked Jesus how a grown person could possibly be born again.

But Jesus wasn’t talking about being physically born a second time.

He was talking about something much deeper.

A spiritual rebirth.

A new heart.

A new life.

A new beginning.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says:

“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” And that verse means more to me now than it ever has. Because when I look back at the woman I was before September 5, 1995, I know there are things I wish I could change.

Things I regret.

Things I’m ashamed of.

Things I wish I could go back and do differently.

But here’s the beautiful thing about Jesus…

He doesn’t ask me to go back and change yesterday.

He offers me grace for yesterday and a new beginning for today.

And maybe somebody reading this needs to hear that.

Maybe you’re carrying something you’ve never told anyone.

Maybe you’re ashamed of choices you’ve made.

Maybe you think you’ve gone too far.

Maybe you think God couldn’t possibly forgive you.

Please listen to me.

You are not too broken.

You are not too far gone.

Your worst mistake is not bigger than God’s grace.

You don’t have to wait until January 1st to start over.

You don’t have to wait for your birthday.

You don’t have to clean yourself up before coming to Jesus.

You can start over today.

Because being born again isn’t about becoming the perfect version of yourself. It’s about surrendering the old version of yourself to the One who loves you enough to make you new.

I have now been on this earth for 63 years. And if God allows me another 20, 30, or even 40 years, I will be grateful for every single one.

But the older I get, the more I understand something I didn’t fully understand when I was younger:

This life is temporary.

The house won’t matter.

The car won’t matter.

The money won’t matter.

The things we worked so hard to accumulate won’t matter.

One day, every earthly thing we have will be left behind.

But eternity doesn’t end.

And that’s why September 5, 1995 means more to me than September 12

September 12 celebrates the day I was born into this world.

September 5 celebrates the day Jesus gave me a new life.

One birthday marks the beginning of my earthly journey.

The other marks the beginning of my eternal one.

And if I could give myself one birthday present every year, it wouldn’t be something wrapped in a box.

It would be remembering just how far God has brought me.

Because I am living proof that God can take a broken life and make it beautiful.

🎂 September 12 — I was born.

✝️ September 5, 1995 — I was born again.

And if you ask me which birthday matters most…

September 5th.

Every. Single. Time.

Because my first birthday gave me this life… but my second birthday gave me hope for eternity. And THAT is worth celebrating. 🙏