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Today is my birthday, but not just any old birthday. It’s the big five zero. For some even reason, that number—50—causes a person to introspect more than any other—or at least for me that is the case. Of course, 30 and 40 caused some trepidation, but it led to a very different kind of introspection. My thoughts surrounding those landmarks in my life were much more selfish in their nature. You know, "Poor me. I am getting old." At thirty, I looked for some way to prove to myself (and perhaps to others) that I wasn’t so old after all, so I ran my first half marathon, which seemed to soften the mental punch. And then at forty, once again, I had to prove something to somebody, so I swam three miles, and said to myself and others: "Look at me. See what I did? Ain’t I something special!"

For a while, I contemplated running my first full marathon to soften the impact of my fiftieth birthday, and I still may do that. Who knows? But rather than trying to prove to myself that I’m not as old as I am this time, I am celebrating, thanking the Lord for allowing me to live to be fifty. I am glad to be half a century old, because I believe that I am becoming much more pliable in His hands. Unlike at those previous milestones, now I believe that every other human being on this earth is just as important as I am—in God’s eyes.

For many years on my birthday, I went shopping for me. I went out and bought whatever I wanted. And today I am really looking forward to my shopping trip, because I am going to buy something very special. I am going shopping to buy gifts for four children in Haiti, and I am more excited about this year’s shopping trip than I ever was about buying stuff for me. Yes, I am growing older, but also wiser. Now I realize that it’s not about how old I am. It’s about how much kinder to my fellow man that I am. It’s not about how young I am. It’s about how much more caring and compassionate I am toward my wife and every other human being that I touch with my life. In fact, it’s not about me at all. It’s about God’s grace.

My wonderful wife asked me the other day what I would like for my birthday. I told her that I already have everything that a man could hope for. But this morning at church, I did think of one thing that I would like to have. When the pastor invited the congregation to come to the altar, I went forward and kneeled before God. There on my knees, I asked God to give me a new heart--just like David did millenniums ago. And He gave it to me!

Time to go shopping!