Fifty...

Tomorrow is a big day, and I have been thinking about it for some time. Tomorrow is Easter, and it is also April Fools' Day. I learned on the internet that this will happen again in 2029 and 2040, then not until 2108. The last time it happened was in 1956.

There is something else about tomorrow...it is my fiftieth birthday! I would not say that I am "excited" to be fifty, but I am glad to still be here, watching my grandchildren grow and celebrating life with people I love! I am even ok with having to share this day with Jesus...lol! His resurrection is certainly a much bigger deal than 50 candles on my cake, and I live in the celebration that He conquered death so that I might see my fiftieth birthday with more faith, hope, love and joy than a body has a right to! 

In the last half-century, I realize that I have learned a thing or two. I am so grateful that I can be taught! Sometimes I doubt myself, as even the simple lessons get past me, but eventually I have managed to catch a few truths about myself and this lifetime. On the eve of the conclusion of my first 5 decades, I would love to share some of them with you...maybe they are true for you as well:

50 Things I Have Learned in My First Half Century:

1. Jesus loves me
2. My mom loves  me
3. My dad loves me
4. My mom and dad are not perfect, but they have always done the best they could do
5. I am not perfect
6. I want to be perfect
7. I want to be enough
8. I am enough, even though I am flawed
9. I am loved more than I know
10. My husband loves me
11. My children love me
12. Even though I love them, I still fail them...more often than I would like
13. I am human and broken, but I can still be kind
14. I am smart
15. I am funny
16. I like people, most of the time
17. People are people, wherever you go
18. People, even Christian people, will let me down
19. I will let others down
20. God will never let me (or anyone else) down
21. God is good, all the time
22. Just because it sounds cliché doesn't mean it isn't true
23. Everyone leaves
24. Everyone loses hope
25. Everyone doubts something
26. Everyone struggles with issues of faith
27. I am not alone
28. My dog loves me unconditionally
29. My cats have conditions
30. I should love like my dog
31. I love my husband more than I thought was humanly  possible before I married him
32. I struggle with that love when times are hard, but I still love him
33. I love my children more than I thought was humanly possible before they were born
34. No matter what they do or have done, I love them beyond measure
35. I love my grandchildren way more than I thought was humanly possible
36. There is nothing they could do that would separate them from my love
37. God loves them (and me) more than any human could ever love
38. God loves me (and you) so much that he gave his one and only Son away to death, so that whoever believes in Him will never die but have eternal life
39. Eternity is a very long time
40. Fifty years is not very long at all
41. Fifty years is a lifetime
42. Death is certain for everyone
43. What happens next is up to me (and you)
44. We have options because Jesus conquered death
45. Losing someone you love is hard
46. Grief is part of life in a fallen world
47. Friendship and love soften grief in this lifetime
48. There is a place where there are no tears, no pain and no sorrow
49. Worship restores my soul
50. When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

Ok, it is not an exhaustive list. I could probably find another 50 things if I wanted to, and it would likely not take me half a century! But I think this is a good start for Easter weekend 2018, and the fiftieth anniversary of my birth.

Whatever your age and wherever you are, I hope you find some truth for yourself in my humble list. I also hope that you find love, joy, hope and faith in Jesus this Easter!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

PS - Yeah, there was no knitting (again) in this post. Rest assured, my needles are still clicking! Barbie is getting new clothes, and my family has warm hats and mittens on this cold Easter weekend in Ohio! Happy Easter friends!