The Birthday Questions - Always Second Chances

When I left graduate school after only a semester of being there, I knew I’d be hard to remember.

We’ve all had those people come into our lives for a short period…only to leave again, onto the next adventure. We say, “Remember that one girl who was here and wrote blogs about coffee dates and being single? What was her name again?”

As short as my time was in the Boston area, and as forgettable as I may have been to those I met and whom befriended me… it left permanent marks on me. They left permanent marks on me. Beyond Nick’s Famous Roast Beef or ultimate frisbee on Saturday mornings, I walked away different. Challenged. Ready. Confident.

There was more out there and I’d finally gotten a taste of it.
Some of the best things I took away from there were: The Birthday Questions.

If I’ve been around you on your birthday in the last year and a half, you’ve probably gotten asked two questions. They were questions asked to me on my 29th birthday… questions that made me think, open up, and take a chance. I can’t tell you where they originated, or even if these are the exact same questions that were actually asked (probably the case of the little game called “Telephone”), but I can assure you that I will ask some modification of them for a long, long time.

They are questions that some might ask themselves at New Year’s, but I like the idea of asking them upon everyone’s individual new year.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned in the last year of your life?
What is one thing you want to accomplish in the next year of your life?

I’ve asked a lot of people these questions and gotten a lot of answers. Some people hate them. Hate thinking about it, hate giving an answer. Some people have too many things racing through their mind to just pick one. Some people are open, honest, thoughtful, insightful. Some people are outward thinkers, some people are inward thinkers. It’s really quite fascinating.

Most recently, it was my father-in-laws birthday. Fortunately, I was around him… and fortunately, I got to ask him The Birthday Questions.

I’ve gotten some really great responses to the second question. Answers that are inspiring and beautiful. However, I don’t think any response will ever be greater than the response my father-in-law gave.

What is one thing you want to accomplish in the next year of your life?

With no hesitation, he said, “I want to share the Gospel with more people than I ever have before.”

Simple.

But profound.

How could that not be the one thing I want to accomplish every year? And how could it not have ever been the thing that I immediately thought of when asked that question?

I was struck by the humility in it.

I was struck by the ownership and responsibility he was taking with the calling on every Christian’s life. A calling I’m not as acutely aware of as I’d like to be, especially as I get wrapped up in all the things in life. All the “important” things. A calling that sometimes terrifies me. A calling that I sometimes turn from or avoid.

“I want to share the Gospel with more people than I ever have before.”

How could anything else matter more?

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