Happy Birthday, Jeff

All too frequently, we take a different view of our trials and temptations. We view them as isolated nightmares. God, however, sees them from a different perspective. They are important and connected punctuation marks in the biography of grace he is writing in our lives.

Sinclair B. Ferguson

To a man who doesn’t always make the swish but knows how to pass it to the one who can,

As a kid, my question was: Jeff, what can’t you do?
Any of your friends could spot the adoration and awe. I chose to walk within the outlines of your shadow, at a loss for where to go and who to be without you. Your choices were my standard.

As I grew, it became: Jeff, where are you? Where’d you go?
And then you stopped showing up all the time. I couldn’t find you or your shadow as easily. You started dodging responsibilities. Abandoning some altogether. Halfheartedly fulfilling others. Living for yourself more. Not in a selfish way, no. But the desire to find yourself, come to terms with your identity intensified. Your choices were no longer my standard. Your choices were now yours and yours alone. With that exclusivity, something else began to grow. That something else eventually allowed you to flee, if only temporarily, from the expectations that come with being the oldest son.

Today it’s: Jeff, what’s next?
No longer are you just the oldest son, the oldest brother. Now, you are also husband, father. And with those titles, best friend, cheerleader. This year, for your birthday, as you wear your many hats, I want to gift you with the chance to once again flee from your expectations, if only temporarily, by asking you to dream with full abandon about tomorrow. Give your heart, mind, and soul the freedom to venture into a neighboring world of possibilities. Then, live out your life as if on a journey to build that bridge between reality and imagination.

Love, Esther