Ladies and Gentlemen, bloggists and twitterers, I have an important announcement.

[cue fanfare. You will have to do your own as I am too much of a cheapskate to have audio files added to this blog].

Today is another day.

I know. Profound isn’t it?

tempus fugit (translation: ‘we briefly apply fudge to the situation’)

Actually, today is the 46th anniversary of the day I arrived kicking and screaming on this planet (forcing my father to abandon a round of golf in the process).But it’s also just another day. It follows February 17th 2013 and (assuming it happens) it precedes February 19th 2013.

Don’t get me wrong, I love birthdays. It is lovely when people send birthday greetings in card form, in person, on the phone, and now in virtual internet-friendly formats too. I am really grateful for them, it is great to be remembered, blessed and encouraged by people.

But if my mother had eaten a hot curry the day before, or if my dad had not abandoned his round of golf, if they had been in a different part of the planet I could have been born on a different day.

We humans have aligned ourselves closely with calendars. We associate events with certain dates on the calendar. Some are good and we want to rejoice, some are sad and we would rather not be reminded of them. It seems that almost every day has been adopted by some organisation or another as their special day.

We also have a number of clichés that we trot out about dates: today is the first day of the rest of your life; tomorrow is another day; take it one day at a time…

Given that God exists beyond time, how does he respond to our calendar-driven routines? If he was remote and disinterested he may view it with vague amusement. But because he is involved in our lives, because he is the God of history, because Jesus is God with us, he shares our joys and sorrows. He celebrates with those who celebrate and weeps with those who weep. And because he is God he can hold the two together – even when the two coincide on the same day. His Spirit within us knows our deepest needs and feelings and shares them.

So, whenever it is that you mark the moment of your arrival on this planet, happy birthday. Whatever today reminds you of, bless you.

Be blessed, be a blessing.

A fellow was very much in love with a beautiful girl. One day she told him that the next day was her birthday. He told her he would send her a bouquet of roses… one for each year of her life.

That evening he called the local florist and ordered twenty-one roses with instructions that they be delivered first thing the next morning.

As the florist was preparing the order, he decided that since the young man was such a good customer, he would put an extra dozen roses in the bouquet.

The fellow never did find out what made the young girl so angry with him.