As I turned 50 years old this week, I found myself
overwhelmed. It wasn’t by the thought of a half-century behind me. It wasn’t
the thought of what hasn’t been accomplished or dreams yet unfulfilled. I was
overwhelmed by joy, and by love, and by what the future holds.
Hundreds of people connected with me this week with birthday
wishes, presents or words of encouragement.
These are people to whom God has allowed me a connection; and while the
individual nature of each of those relationships differ, one thing remains the
same. There is love in my heart for every one of them. And, there is a great
measure of thankfulness that God has graced me to have them in my life.
I am blessed with a full life. I have a beautiful family. I
have parents who raised me well and who love and care for me deeply. I pastor
the most amazing church on the planet – full of people who just simply amaze
me. God has blessed me to have the opportunity to minister and make friends
around the globe. Life is indeed full.
But that fullness is not found in the opportunity to travel,
to minister, to play concerts or to motivate others from a platform. That
fullness is found in one simple word: relationship.
I am blessed for the relationships in my life. Everything
for which God designed us, and in fact His creation, is surrounded in
relationship. For instance, the flowers flourish because of their relationship
with the bees. The ground benefits from its relationship with the ocean, which
waters draw their functionality by recycling through the atmosphere to again
rain down upon the earth.
Relationship is not simply important. Relationship is life!
Sometimes it is fragile. Sometimes expectations fall short and even brokenness
can occur. But God in His mercy continues to afford for us those relationships
that heal and make us flourish. More so, He offers to us a relationship like no
other- loving us unconditionally and without reservation. If we can simply
grasp this, our lives our not simply preserved. They are enriched.
I have a rich life. It is rich because of my relationship
with God. It is rich because of the relationship I have with my beautiful wife
and my amazing kids. It is rich because of the relationship I have with others.
The future is bright because it is already full. And for everyone who is there,
I am grateful and full of love.
Thanks for being in my life and for making it better. Thanks
for the joy of allowing me to know you in the past half century of my life. I
look forward to what God will do in all of us in the years ahead.
Thanks for loving me.
Tim
