August was designated “birthday month” by our daughters many, many years ago. August is their birthday month; August 15, the day. (Which makes February 15 their half-birthday, which they never successfully managed to officially get recognized as a gift-receiving day.) It started like this:

At 3:15 a.m. on August 15, Dorothy woke up to announce a baby seemed ready to be born. After some profound questions like “Are you sure?” and “Really?” I got up, got dressed, and took her to the car. We leisurely arrived at the hospital with plenty of time for our baby to be born.  Dorothy and I were somewhat surprised that her on-call doctor was her friend Saundra’s husband, who had recently joined the partnership of Dorothy’s obstetrician. Dorothy had known Saundra and Charles since their high school days. After the brief awkwardness passed, they settled down to business and Donelle was born at 11:55 a.m. Charles could not wait to call Saundra and tell her the news.

At 3:15 a.m. on August 15, Dorothy woke up to announce a baby seemed ready to be born. After some profound questions like “Are you sure?” and “Really?” I got up, got dressed, picked up Donelle, carried her to the car, and then got Dorothy. On the way to drop Donelle off with a church family, Donelle prophesied, “I’m going to have a pink birthday.” This was before the days of ultrasounds. When we arrived at the hospital every labor room was occupied and other women in labor were waiting on gurneys in the hallway. Dorothy bumped to the head of that line, and was quickly placed in a delivery room that was still being cleaned up. The nurse asked her to wait a few minutes until the doctor arrived, but she respectfully declined. The doctor appeared just as he was needed and Dayna was born at 6:14 a.m. Donelle celebrated her third birthday that evening with a “pink party.”

Do you know your birth story? We all have one. If you do not know, ask someone who might remember. You just might be surprised at what you learn about yourself. Our birth stories have the power to demonstrate just how strong, inside, we really are. What about your other birth story? The one about the time you were born into God’s eternal family? What do you remember? What has it shown you about yourself? How do you celebrate it?

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Celebrate your new birth. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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