Birthdays and Anniversaries
This month’s verse comes in the middle of Psalm 118, which talks about the enduring love of God. Things may not always go according to plan, life may not always look the way we want it to, but God endures. God is active in what is happening in our lives, the creator of each day and each year. This is a wonderful thing to remember on the days of celebrating another year of life or marriage! Each year brings its complications, disappointments, times of rejoicing and times of sorrow. And on a day of commemoration, we look back at that year and say that God was in it all. God created this year we have lived, and God walked with us through it. Birthdays and anniversaries aren’t just for celebrating us. They are for celebrating our relationship to God the Creator.
Read It
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Do It
Birthday Idea #1: Get out photo albums or photo books from your child’s life. Retell stories, observe together how they have grown. If there are hard or sad parts, like a hospital stay or a funeral, don’t skip over those. Instead, remember that God was there, too.
Birthday Idea #2: Tell your child’s birth or adoption story. As you tell it, tell your child about the times that God showed up. As you children get older, they get more interested in the details and moments of suspense and surprise. Life is a miracle, so let this day be a day to remember the awe of being given life.
Birthday Idea #3: This will especially work well with older children. Have a visual way to remember the past year - a calendar or photos in print or on an electronic device. Look back at the year together, the hard times and the easy times. Note as you talk about the year the ways that God showed up.
Birthday Idea #4: Acknowledge God in your regular birthday festivities. For example, as you light each candle, thank God for a specific characteristic God placed in your child. In the things you do that day, find the little ways to help the child know that God created them, gave them life, and therefore they are good!
Giving Birthday Gifts: Many children have more material things than they know what to do with. Sometimes giving an experience can be just as valuable. For example, last year, our son’s gift was pottery lessons, and another year, it was going to a professional baseball game. They may not remember what gifts they received, for which birthday, from whom, but they will remember the experiences.
Quality Time: Spend one-on-one time with your child on their birthday, doing what they want to do. By your actions, you are showing them that they are worth it, and that you don’t just love them, you like them.
Anniversary: Tell your children about your wedding day. Show them pictures of it, and tell them about how you felt on that day. Notice where God showed up - in the people who supported you that day, or in other details of things that happened. We sometimes show our children our wedding video, which seems to make things very real for them. Maybe let them have a taste of your wedding day - make a cake that’s similar to the one you had, or eat your wedding menu for supper. If you’re not married, consider celebrating the day your family (whoever functions as close family for you) was “born.”
*A memory from Talashia:
When I was three, my 6-year-old sister and I had attended numerous weddings and were very curious about our parents’ wedding. We got it into our heads that they needed to re-enact it, with us as flower girls, of course. My parents are amazing, and they agreed to do it. Our adopted aunt and uncle came over, and our aunt even made a wedding cake. Mom and Dad put on their wedding dress and suit, and we got dressed up in what we thought were flower girl outfits. We carried African violets in pots into the living room, then our parents marched in. They said their vows to each other, kissed, and then we ate cake. Looking back, I think that re-enactment was formative for me. It helped me understand the way that commitments of marriage play out over time. Hearing my parents say their vows to each other made me feel secure. And it gave me a strange sense of ownership in their marriage - I felt like I was part of it, somehow. It obviously made an impact, considering how many details I remember!
Birthday Idea #2: Tell your child’s birth or adoption story. As you tell it, tell your child about the times that God showed up. As you children get older, they get more interested in the details and moments of suspense and surprise. Life is a miracle, so let this day be a day to remember the awe of being given life.
Birthday Idea #3: This will especially work well with older children. Have a visual way to remember the past year - a calendar or photos in print or on an electronic device. Look back at the year together, the hard times and the easy times. Note as you talk about the year the ways that God showed up.
Birthday Idea #4: Acknowledge God in your regular birthday festivities. For example, as you light each candle, thank God for a specific characteristic God placed in your child. In the things you do that day, find the little ways to help the child know that God created them, gave them life, and therefore they are good!
Giving Birthday Gifts: Many children have more material things than they know what to do with. Sometimes giving an experience can be just as valuable. For example, last year, our son’s gift was pottery lessons, and another year, it was going to a professional baseball game. They may not remember what gifts they received, for which birthday, from whom, but they will remember the experiences.
Quality Time: Spend one-on-one time with your child on their birthday, doing what they want to do. By your actions, you are showing them that they are worth it, and that you don’t just love them, you like them.
Anniversary: Tell your children about your wedding day. Show them pictures of it, and tell them about how you felt on that day. Notice where God showed up - in the people who supported you that day, or in other details of things that happened. We sometimes show our children our wedding video, which seems to make things very real for them. Maybe let them have a taste of your wedding day - make a cake that’s similar to the one you had, or eat your wedding menu for supper. If you’re not married, consider celebrating the day your family (whoever functions as close family for you) was “born.”
*A memory from Talashia:
When I was three, my 6-year-old sister and I had attended numerous weddings and were very curious about our parents’ wedding. We got it into our heads that they needed to re-enact it, with us as flower girls, of course. My parents are amazing, and they agreed to do it. Our adopted aunt and uncle came over, and our aunt even made a wedding cake. Mom and Dad put on their wedding dress and suit, and we got dressed up in what we thought were flower girl outfits. We carried African violets in pots into the living room, then our parents marched in. They said their vows to each other, kissed, and then we ate cake. Looking back, I think that re-enactment was formative for me. It helped me understand the way that commitments of marriage play out over time. Hearing my parents say their vows to each other made me feel secure. And it gave me a strange sense of ownership in their marriage - I felt like I was part of it, somehow. It obviously made an impact, considering how many details I remember!
Pray It
God, you are the one who created us, and you also made this very special day. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for creating us to love each other and help care for each other. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Explore It
A conversation on Sacraparental about children’s birthday parties.
An idea for celebrating a wedding anniversary as the birthday of your family.
An idea for celebrating a wedding anniversary as the birthday of your family.
