255/365

I'm starting to think that birthdays are more of a reminder of what really matters than a celebration of a person's birth. Wether it's a late night limousine on the town singing karaoke or an intimate sit-down dinner in the comfort of a home, there always comes a moment of sentiment somewhere between the killing of the lights and the first few words of the birthday song. It is in that moment that no matter how I've had to drink or how distant my relationship with the honored guest, that I go to that warm and fuzzy place. In a matter of seconds I appreciate the beauty of friends and life and death and all the time in between more than ever. I guess it's because I realize (as was stolen off a friend's facebook wall earlier this week) that we ourselves cannot make our own hearts beat. It is but the mercy of God that we have life at all. And every year when we stop and stare into those candles, it becomes glaringly obvious that we did nothing to deserve another 365 beautiful rotations on this rollercoaster of a life. And I think that this time of year, especially, as it seems that I have a birthday party or two everyday (thank you, Christmas lovers)....I am thankful for this wave of reminders that God is up there pulling the strings. Every. Single. Breath. I. Take.