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My Birthday: A New Page In A Book I Thought Was Closed
As the curtain of darkness parted in the sky and sunlight ushered in this new day, I turned a new chapter in my life’s book – my birthday.
On this day, years ago, I took my first breath and began life’s journey. Sometimes, the road has been smooth; sometimes, it has been dusty and full of potholes.
I have climbed mountains and walked in valleys, but I have never stopped placing one foot in front of the other, etching my footprints in the sand of time as the sun rises and sets.
Birthday celebrations’ style and social weight often differ from culture to culture, sometimes even from one individual to the other.
What remains constant is that birthdays never lose its universal appeal.
Some of us, however, prefer to stay on the sidelines and view birthday festivities through the lens of skepticism.
Otunba T.J Abass
I am one of those who would likely be caught sidestepping festivities, except in the few cases where I have been sweet-talked by family and friends into celebrating my birthday.
Life is a one-way passage into the future. It offers no return ticket. I learned early that I could never live any moment twice. So, I have taken every breath as a gift from God and
lived every day as if it were my last.
With both germane and mundane efforts, I have tried to move the cause of humanity forward while I am still here.
As such, I feel that every moment of my life is unique and worthy of celebration.
Otunba T.J Abass
Therefore, I question the need for special recognition of the day I was born when I experienced God’s continuous benevolence, sound mind, and excellent health daily.
Throughout my life, I have enjoyed a clean bill of health. Of course, not without routine calls to the doctor’s office for “maintenance services.”
However, early this year, my call to the doctor’s office flipped my worldview like a new page in a book I thought was closed.
I got a diagnosis that threatened to alter the course of my existence. In a twist of fate, I stood and watched the receding footsteps of my own life walking away before my very eyes.
The hospital showed me the picture of my own life hanging in the balance, like a heavy stone held up with a tailor’s thread.
I began to put my house in order, like a man traveling never to return.
Otunba TJ Abass
Yet, since that grim report from the doctor’s office, every morning I have risen to meet daylight, I am awed by this miracle called LIFE.
My heart remains in the business of pumping blood; my nose in the business of inhaling and exhaling. Life is indeed a precious gift.
This birthday is most treasured because I least expected to live and see it. And I won’t deny that God has been gracious to me.
I am fortunate to have been surrounded by friends and well-wishers who have demonstrated their unwavering support, family members who have stood by me, and the community offering prayers for my sustenance.
Today, I have defied all odds to celebrate yet another birthday. It’s been made possible by God’s unending love for me to witness another watershed moment in my life: my birthday.
I have dropped my skepticism about birthday celebrations at the feet of my medical diagnosis, and today, I unapologetically celebrate the day I was born.
I also celebrate every day and every moment that I have graced with God’s unending love and every taste of humanity that has fueled my existence.
It’s a fresh beginning !
Thank you so much for the beautiful wishes and messages!
Your continuous prayers and love mean the world to me.
Please keep them coming, just like before!
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