Perspective...

Perspective in life truly means everything.

I recently celebrated my twenty third birthday. The older I get (and I am not saying that I am old) the more I realize the birthdays are these tiny things that occur throughout the course of a year. I find mine becoming less about what I actually do on that day and more about what I am doing with my life.

I could not help but pause the other day and ask myself, “Is this what I thought I would be doing by this age? Am I on course with Jesus at twenty three?” I will not go into my answers.

But I will say that when I was younger, birthdays meant everything. THE DAY itself meant everything. As a child you do not really think about what you are doing in life. I think you just kind of note that it is your day. A day that can be all about you.

I thought birthdays were like that everywhere. Celebrated. A highlighted date on the calender.

I recently started helping our students celebrate their birthdays here in Mathare. You see, all of these students have sponsors. Sponsors pay monthly. However, sponsors have the option to give a little extra money around the time of their child’s birthday. And when that happens, we go out, buy a cake and throw a class party.

I love my job, I love my life because I get to go to these class parties and participate in the festivities. It involves cutting the cake, eating the cake, giving the child gifts, and of course taking pictures for their sponsors.

Last week, prior to my own birthday, I was assisting one of our social workers with four class parties. We would go to the class, find the birthday boy or girl, pull them into the hall and explain to them what was about to happen.

Daniel, the social worker, would begin with every student by asking them when their birthday was.

“When is your birthday?”

Nothing. No response.

These beautiful children do not know when their birthdays are. Their parents never tell them. They never have had a birthday party before in their lives.

So we tell them that we are celebrating their birthday right now, that day, and we remind them to ask their parents when their birthday is when they go home.

I remember growing up and my biggest concern every birthday was whether or not I would get the gift that I wanted. Would my friends be able to come over? Would my mom remember my favorite kind of cake?

Me. My birthdays were all about me as a child.

Culturally I cannot even conceive of not knowing when my birthday is. I have known since I was at least four years old.

But imagine knowing that you are turning thirteen but having no idea when in a month that actually happens.

I sit now and realize that birthdays, birthday parties, birthday gifts… those things are kind of a luxury of the affluent. What I associate with a birthday might not be so common and so ordinary after all.

In fact, I wonder how much of the rest of the world can spout out when they were born and I wonder if I was born in Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya if I would be noting this year that my life would already be halfway over.

The life expectancy here is the age of 45.

Perspective is everything as I said in the beginning.