WISH LIST

I have a milestone birthday (of sorts) coming up—which means my loved ones will be scratching their heads over appropriate gifts. They can skip the joke cane. Besides the flimsy joke cane at left (a gift to my husband gift at a previous "milestone" birthday) I have a real and sturdy one. It's my buddy for stability, typically in the morning, when my weak ankle reminds me of a major crunch-fall followed by surgery and casts two decades ago. Prunes? Well, I eat them anyway, from time to time. They're high in iron! Tweezers for chin whiskers? Already supplied. Wrinkle cream? I'm beyond hope, although have some generic skin lotions for “all over.” Brain pills? Not in my pill caddy. I figure the jury is still out, probably on some beach looking for smart jellyfish to harvest and pack into capsules. Interestingly, they're often touted in ads during brain-exercise TV programs, like “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy.”

So what's on my “list” as I enter into “older” years I never thought about in my younger self? I vote for “PETER'S POSITIVE POTION.” That “product” has this description: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). The things that really matter aren't on a store shelf.

I've rubbed elbows in recent years with people who never feel they have enough. I got so tired of hearing them say, “Well, so-and-so has this or that [usually a relational or material blessing] and I DON'T and so I am so miserable because God isn't giving me what I think I need for my happiness!”

Paul had a different outlook: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12). That included poverty OR material “enough.” A full stomach OR a rumbling hungry one.

A friend with a steady spiritual walk introduced me to the works of Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth, whose writing and speaking focuses on the holy, God-focused life. In Lies Women Believe (Moody, 2021) she zeroes in on common but ungodly attitudes, like excusing bad behavior, claiming “rights,” and focusing on beauty over character. She also countered the common complaint that “I should not have to live with unfulfilled longings.” Her biblical perspective (p. 87):

“I will always have unfulfilled longings this side of heaven.”

“The deepest longings of my heart cannot be filled by any created person or thing.”

“If I will accept them, unfulfilled longings will increase my longing for God and for heaven.”

Maybe that's my best answer for “what do I want for my birthday.” What means the most to me can't be bought in a store. Well, maybe a simple card (funny or serious, Dollar $tore or homemade), extra “positive sparks” if the sender adds affirming words (which is one of my “love languages”). But a gift wish list? Not me. Despite its numerical significance, this birthday is but a service station pause (hopefully with clean restrooms) on the road to heaven. As Paul wrote: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).