How old...?!

Today I have a "significant" birthday so it's time for chocolate cake with lots of icing and sparkly bits but no candles as we haven't got enough in the house!  It also seems to be a time for reflection as I can't help thinking back, remembering friends, other birthdays and life in general.  In particular I remember my original 21st birthday (for as you know, once we reach 21 we revisit it each year).  That was a great party in Oxford with lots of friends.  What a contrast to the following year when I woke up on my birthday morning having slept on the floor in a traditional house in Papua New Guinea for the first time, very thankful for the mosquito net which kept all the bugs and creepy-crawlies at bay.

I can't help wondering what next year will be like in Nigeria, once again with a mosquito net but also a husband and two children.  By then we should have settled in to our new life and I trust be making a difference to the lives of those we meet out there.  When I was with Wycliffe Bible Translators in PNG there were people of all ages who had heard and responded to God's call to step out and serve him - from young couples with babies to people who thought they had retired.  It's wonderful to know that the Lord never retires us, there's always something he has for us, whatever our age.  I'm excited to be given this new opportunity at my advanced years.  Looking back, I can see how God's been preparing me in various ways, no experience is ever wasted, they're all part of his plan even if we can't see clearly what that is at the time.  Isn't he marvellous!