A Day of Love

Turning 25. Mid life crisis. Not for me, I can surely say so, because most of the time, I don’t even remember how old I am.

Birthdays never mattered to me, because I never understood the meaning of it and because for me, it has always been celebrated like a customary token. You have presents, a birthday cake, some flowers, cards, maybe dinner sometimes, and that’s about it.

Despite that, I have never failed to remember my parents’ birthdays, my sister’s and close friends, although I must say my actions don’t quite match my words. For me, if I weren’t the birthday girl, I would buy token gifts. If I were the birthday girl, I would be expecting token actions liken to the above-mentioned.

So, all this roundabout…I just wanted to say, birthdays to me are like any other ordinary day. Why make this big fuss about celebrating it just on one day, instead of celebrating life itself every single day? Why make only one day special but treat the other 364 days as mundane and boring?

And today, I understood the reason why.

Birthdays are to celebrate the person’s birth. Everyday and everything on this earth can be a miracle, but on this day, I WAS THE MIRACLE. I was formed and created to be here, for a reason, a purpose. And the reason you celebrate it every year, is so that you remember the reason you were here for, the reason you were created. Not only that, the miracles that you were given to experience in a whole year. The friendships, the ups and downs of life, the sparkles in the eyes, the ringing sound of laughter and buckets of tears. So much to remember about, to be thankful for.

I was touched that the first thing of the day, I got text messages from both my parents. I know that we were never very expressive of our love for each other, but I also know for certain that their simple text messages can only translate into love for me, that they remembered this special day, that I was their miracle, other than my sister.

And of course, the presents. How can I forget the presents? I thought little of the ‘birth’ day, but I never say no to presents. Except for now, the presents I get speak of the kind of friendships I’ve built, the kind of love that the other person wants to say to me of. The presents were thoughtful and meaningful, because I had shared something meaningful with the giver.

This year, I was given in abundance, doses of love and support. I have three very good friends, that I will never forget, and they made my birthday surprise (party) possible. Aik Chung, Ree and Karen. These three precious people in my life for the last year, walked closely with me in my ups and downs, know my habits and nitpicking, yet love every bit of me. I am so touched that they threw this party for me, because they thought of me.

The trio made this very special gift. It was an album of pictures and birthday greetings, contributed by the friends that knew me, the customers that I serve coffee everyday and work colleagues from my other workplace. Aikee, this boy especially, went through so much time and effort to gather the writings and to print the pictures. Yes, Aikee, although I did not cry that night, my heart was overflowing with joyful tears.

And Karen cooked up this sumptuous meal for the party. You should have seen, it was fit for a king! We all could only stand and awed, mouths gaping. It was fantastic. Thanks Karen, for your magical touch to food and to remember this passion which we both hold so dear to our hearts.

And Ree brought me this extra big present, a boxful of things to remember our friendship. A box which I can unravel the mysteries of our love for each other; the things that will bring a smile or a tear to my eyes. The little taglines that came with each item was so so sweet. I was truly moved.

And Shawn and Eleena, who thought of me and believed in me, always. They gave me a gift of eternity – a piece of GOD which will form and transform me, to open my eyes and see the delightful plans that God has in store for me. A flight ticket to Sydney, accommodation at a hotel and an entrance ticket to Hillsong Women’s Conference 2007. That really blew my mind away, to know that people are looking out for me; for my sense of personhood, to be interested in my life and to want to partner and help me on this journey of faith.

And everyone else who were just there. Everybody’s presence made an impact in my life. They reminded me of God’s love, and the special bonding I have with every individual. Even those who were not physically here with me at the party, I know that they remember me, they loved me in their own little ways.

Thank you all for this special day.