Today is my birthday.
Today I am 27 years old.
Today I had the privilege of spending my birthday in Ireland.
Life over here can sometimes become mundane,getting lost in the day-to-day activity of life, but every once in a while it hits me: I am in Ireland. It is a feeling of awe and of bliss. Today was such a day.
Though I am bogged down at the moments in essays that need to be written and research to be done and books to be read, I decided to take the day off.
I took myself to my special place where I always feel at peace and the most connected with my Maker--the coast. In the time that I have been in Ireland I had not yet taken myself to the coast and today seemed like the perfect opportunity: it was.
Though it has tended to be cloudy and bleak and cold lately today was gorgeous with sunshine and everything. So, I ventured forth on my friend the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit... for those of you not from around these parts) and went out to see what I could see of this Irish coast that I have always dreamt of.
The DART
As we traveled further from the city centre I found my soul waiting for me in the vistas of the Irish Sea, so fantastic...
What I saw out the window...
So, I decided to disembark at a little coastal strand called Killiney...
And it was absolutely perfect. There was sun peeking through the clouds, as if God were painting me a picture to say "Happy Birthday." So I sat and I read
The Ragamuffin Gospel, which is a book I have wanted to read for a long time--rough and beautiful. And I prayed beautiful Celtic prayers that I brought with me. And God met me in this place. Here is the proof...
And it brought me great joy.
I will leave you with the meditative prayer that has stuck with me and that I pray for this day and this year to come in which I want to fully experience every single day.
O God, You have been good.
You have been faithful;
You have been good.
You have shown me Your love,
not just in the year that is past,
but through all the years of my life.
You have given me life and reason,
and set me in a world which is full of your glory.
You put family around me
and comfort me with friends
You touch me through the thoughtfulness
and warmth of other people.
In darkness you have been my light,
in adversity and temptation a rock of strength
You are the source of my joy,
abd all the reward I ever need.
Your lovingkindness is everlasting.
Your lovingkindness is everlasting.
You remembered me when I had forgotten You,
followed me when I ran away,
met me with forgiveness
whenever I turned back to You.
Forgive me,
that I have not loved You
with all my heart,
with all my soul,
with all my mind,
with all my strength.
I have taken much,
and returned little thanks;
I have been unworthy
of Your unchanging love.
Forgive me my coldness and indifference,
my lack of constant love,
my unbelief,
my false pretenses,
and my refusal to understand Your ways.
Teach me Your ways, O Lord,
and let me walk in Your truth.
I put behind me
my stubborn independence,
and turn again to You.
I am no longer my own, but Yours.
Use me as You choose;
rank me alongside whoever You choose;
with my whole heart I freely choose to yield
all things to Your ordering and approval.
So now, God of glory,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine, and I am Your own.
