Happy Birthday to my . . .

best friend
counselor
companion
supporter
husband and love of my life, Tony Redfern!

First of all, I need to know, how did you get to be 60 years old so fast?

Wasn't it only yesterday . . .

. . . I watched in

disbelief

as you and Bobby Elliff, Mark Hanna and Glen Plowman messed around in the back row of Children's Church at Lakewood First Baptist?

. . . I saw you drive up to volleyball in your sporty white MGB-GT, with leather interior?

. . . You literally swept me off my feet (

quite another story

) on our first date at the Hollywood Bowl?

. . . You sent me 2 dozen red roses, paid for a window table at the Gate of Spain Restaurant on Santa Monica Bay to ask me to marry you?

But in reality, you

were

born in the first half of the last century, and that was six decades ago!

We have been together almost 40 years ~

4 years of dating at Biola,

and 35 years as husband and wife

this coming July.

We have enjoyed sunny times

and weathered many storms.

Happy 60th Birthday!

I love you.

I cannot imagine how my future would ever have been

so redeemed without you by my side.

Come and grow old with me . . . the best is yet to come.

Robert Browning

Today I am fifty-six years old! I remember as a child thinking someone in their fifties was seriously getting up there - not many more years left for them on this earth. Now, from the other side of that half-century mark, I believe old is what one chooses to be.

Tony and I were watching the morning news show this morning and someone

his

age was being interviewed. The man on the television

looked

much older than Tony. In a slightly worried voice, Tony asked, "Do I look as old as he does?"

Age is really what one makes of it. I think it is not the number of years that matter; it is the spirit of one's soul. I have a friend who is 96 years young. Each Sunday he is out on the church steps, leaning on his walker, greeting all who come. Each Wednesday night he sits as a "listener" to hear AWANA kids recite their Bible verses.

So on this my fifty-sixth birthday, I want to reflect on my life tenets, those values that guide my life and really determine the age of my soul:

There can be no reconciliation without invitation. I will be a person who invites.

Every relationship is worth restoring. I will freely offer forgiveness.

Nothing can thwart the will of God; not even the tragic events of this fallen world. I will trust in His perfect will.

In every situation in life, I have a choice; I can be destroyed by it or transformed by it. I will choose to be transformed.

The will of God will never take me where the grace of God cannot hold me. I will rest in His grace.

I want to keep a

young soul

for all of my days. I want to glorify God, people His Kingdom, and leave a godly legacy for my grandchildren.

May they remember me as a woman who loved God, valued peace, bestowed grace, always forgave, and brought comfort to those who grieve.