Thirty Seven and Counting

The celebration of my thirty-seventh year began yesterday
With a new hairdo
And my family gathered round me
Each telling me something that they value in me

This tradition used to make me uncomfortable
I somehow couldn’t believe
The good things
That are unfolding within me
With each passing year

God has had a lot of patience
With my rascally ways

I found this year
That I could listen
To the kindness
That poured from familiar lips
And I could even see
The outline of my own heart
Set out before me
Through the eyes of another


I am changing
I am deepening
I am still unfolding and becoming
I am thirty seven years wiser
With more thankfulness
To come