Celebrating Life

Today marks a special day...it's my birthday. You must be thinking wow that's quite conceited. Yes, everyone's birthday is special, without a doubt. For me, however, my birthdays are special for more than the fact that it's the day I was born. You see it's also the same time of year that God saved me & defeated death. Nine years and three days ago, I overdosed on a significantly large amount of pain killers. I was in a deep dark pit of despair and the gentle whisper of it would all be better if you weren't alive appeared like a glimmer of hope.

However, I was about to learn that real hope is found in one place only...Jesus Christ.

I was rushed to the emergency room after being found on my bed. I had my stomach pumped and loads of blood work taken. None of this I remember. After this I was wheeled into the High Dependency Ward. For some reason, they allowed two of my mum's friends to come and see me and the one thing I heard and vividly remember from that night was one of them saying God saved you for a reason. Even as I write this I can literally hear those words as if it was yesterday. "God saved you for a reason". The next few days were a bit of a blur. However, I celebrated my 18th birthday, which I was never supposed too.

You see, my birthdays are beautiful reminders of the God that saves, redeems and restores. Each birthday is like a kick in the butt for Satan and a reminder that Jesus is victorious. The journey over the past nine years hasn't always been an easy one and it wasn't an immediate change in my life or heart. It has been just that...a journey. A journey in which The Lord has come out on top time and time again. A journey in which Jesus wins. A journey in which I'm reminded that it's only by the saving grace of God that I am here, that Jesus Christ paid for my sin, including my attempted suicide, on the cross. A journey in which the word redemption has never been more real or carries more weight.

So today I'm celebrating life!! Life abundant! Life restored! Life redeemed! Life set free! I'm celebrating a God that is bigger than anything, a God that beat death, a God that wins and a God that loves!! Today I'm celebrating more than a birthday, I'm celebrating all that my birthday reminds me to be thankful for.