Birthdays

I love my birthday. 

Forget New Years; my birthday is my 'fresh start' for the year. After all, August 8th, 2010 was the first day of my 45th year, right? So how can I help but consider what's happened this past year...and look forward to the next? Besides, in January, it's freezing and dreary...and sun-bunny that I am, I'm just never in a very optimistic frame of mind around New Years. But August? Oh yeah....the sun & heat just energize me! NOW is when I am most excited about life!


And this year I have so many things for which to be thankful. I couldn't begin to list them all, but here are the highlights:

• After an extended period of unemployment last year, I was fortunate to get a couple long-term personal assistant jobs around Chicago beginning last August. While I didn't want to move again, it did allow me to spend more time with my babies. And as it turned out, God used one of those jobs to pave the way for my daughter (she took over my last job when I left). I learned long ago to never question; just keep moving forward. God always has a plan...and it's always better than anything I could've come up with!
• Jim & I hadn't known one another long, but the few months we spent apart last Summer & Fall convinced us that, at our age, there was no point in waiting to start our life together. We both sincerely believed that God had brought us together and wanted to bless us. Besides, I had been struggling for some time with the idea of caring for someone else's parent (I was a live-in caretaker for a 95-year old man), while my own mother was dealing with serious health problems...yet I couldn't be there for her. And I just plain missed my folks. My babies are big (23 & 16) & have their own social lives. Me? I just sat around...alone...pining for my man. *pouty face* So, with Hannah situated, Jim & I decided it was time for me to move back home in November. Not only did I get to be near my folks (& family & dear friends) again...but Jim & I got engaged! *happy dance*
• 30 weeks ago this past Friday - on January 15th - we married, and I became Kimberly Sutor...'very proud wife of Jim, the best husband ever!!" (That's my email signature, if you didn't already know...cuz I am THAT proud! *giggle*). The cool thing was, we were married in our home. Every time we walk through the living/dining room, we are reminded of the vows we took. And for a girl who has moved over 20 times in as many years (see my 1st blog), this is the first time I've ever really felt 'at home' anywhere. God has blessed me with a sense of belonging and security I have never experienced before. Who wudda thunk that at 44 years of age, I'd FINALLY be starting my 'happily ever after'??? God really does work in mysterious ways, doesn't He? : )
• I am so blessed that God led me to this handsome, funny, intelligent, talented, caring, protective, supportive man with a real heart for God! We've had the BEST time these past 7 months! And we have both felt led to become more involved at church (Bethel Baptist). Jim was already a member of the Worship band (he's the hot drummer!), and we joined a Small Group in December. In the Spring, I was asked to join the Creative Planning Team (CPT...which I am thoroughly enjoying!), and in a few weeks, I'll be working with the Mom2Mom team. We have some exciting prospects in our near-future, and we trust God will lead us to the right opportunities so that we may serve Him the best way we can!!

Considering all this, I want to share a passage that reflects my heart as I begin the next leg of my journey:

Philippians 3:12-16 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) 12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead. 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you also. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.

I am so thankful that Jesus died so that we all can have unlimited "second chances.' His forgiveness is the only reason I've been able to move forward even to this point. And when I consider how far I have yet to go...oyyyyyyyyyy...it's overwhelming! As easy as it would be to wallow in guilt over my past or despair over my ability to do it better in the future, I'm happy to say I've matured enough not to do that. (Well...at least not very often...or for very long. *LOL*) Instead, I lay hold to Jesus' grace and keep 'reaching forward to what is ahead.'


A few years ago, I adopted as my personal motto "Choose wisely." Jesus always chose the right response, and the right words; that which was most-pleasing to God the Father. If I am to be more like Christ, that's what I must work toward: To choose wisely in all I say and do. (See Colossians 3:17...My Mama taught me this verse in GMG.)


So this is my goal for my 45th year: That I will better heed that little voice inside me - Jesus' Holy Spirit - as He whispers encouragement and guides me to making the choices that will most please my Heavenly Father. I have faith that I will do better; that I am becoming more like Christ. But I can't wait for the day when I achieve my prize: eternity with Jesus!


With hope in Him...
Kimberly