“Happy birthday, Kayli!” My mother greeted me as I dragged myself into the kitchen and plopped into a chair.“Thanks” I moaned in response. How could it be morning already?
“What’s wrong?”
“Solomon puked on my bed in the middle of the night. I had to take a shower, give that stupid dog a bath, and change my sheets at 2:00 a.m.!” My mom made some sympathetic noises and handed me a glass of O.J. I finished breakfast and got ready for school, hoping that my day would be better than my night had been. An hour later I walked through the school doors, and so far it didn’t look promising.
“Whoa! What happened to you?” Ella, my best friend, greeted me as I walked into school with the rest of our friends not far behind her. They all had to make a comment on my appearance.
“Hey, Frosty, where’s your corncob pipe and button nose?”
“Geez, Kayli, did you walk here?”
“Hey Rudolph, what’s up?”
“Enough already! I missed the bus. Okay?” I was bright red from the cold and wrapped in every article of clothing known to man. It was January in the Midwest - single digit temperatures with an artic wind chill, and I’d had to walk the five blocks from our house to school. Typically my friends are great at birthdays. Somebody always makes a cake and we give each other presents. We even decorate the honoree’s locker. With this in mind, I slowly thawed as I walked towards my locker with great expectations, my arms loaded down with the layers of sweaters and scarves I’d just taken off. I could see from down the hall that my locker was bare - no balloons. No signs. No streamers. “Okay,” I thought, “They must’ve crammed everything inside. When I open it, it’s going to burst out.” I picked up my pace in anticipation. Nothing. It was my plain old locker – just the way I’d left it yesterday afternoon. “I know. They’re waiting for lunch. They’ll surprise me then.” No, nothing then either and so my day went. No one even said, “Happy birthday.” By 3:30, I’d failed a history test, gotten a rip in the seat of my jeans, broken a Petri dish, and spilled half a cup of hot chocolate down my sweater. I was ready to get out of there.
I rode the bus home in silence, ignoring my friends. When it reached my house, I stepped off without saying goodbye. I wanted nothing more than to make it to my bedroom so I could let loose the tears that had been threatening all afternoon. I didn’t get that luxury though because as soon as I stepped into the house, Madi, my little sister, sprang at me. She was yelling and jumping around. I could barely understand her.
“Aaahhh!!!! Guess what?! Oh you’ll never guess! I have to tell you! The Bremers are taking me to the Bahamas with them over spring break! They want me to help with the kids so they can have some ‘couple time.’” I’m so excited I can’t stand it!”
I stared at her in disbelief, dropped my backpack where I stood, and walked right back out the door. I started walking aimlessly. “The Bremers were MY kids. I babysat for them first! I’ve babysat for them longer! Madi’s only been watching them like six months! I should be the one going to the Bahamas!” I took a breath to stifle a sob. “Are you mad at me, God?! What did I do to deserve a day like this?” I walked and cried and yelled at God and my friends. I don’t know how long I walked before I noticed that it was snowing – really snowing. It had formed a blanket over the trees, the rooftops, the streets, lampposts, and mailboxes. They were all covered in white. It was beautiful. Breathtaking. I stopped walking and took in the beauty around me. I closed my eyes and listened. It was then, in the silence that only freshly fallen snow can bring, that I remembered our scripture verse from last Sunday: “Those who know My name, put their trust in Me.” The words pierced my heart like an arrow. “Oh Lord!” I cried out. “I DO trust You! I to trust You more! I just totally forgot You today. I’m so sorry.” Tears stung my eyes. My day could’ve been so much better. I checked my watch. Out loud, I said, “Hey it’s only 4:45. I’ve got the whole evening ahead of me.” A squirrel, digging through the snow presumably for a buried nut, looked up at me as if I’d addressed him, so I did, “I could have a God-attitude instead of a me-attitude for the next seven hours and fifteen minutes!”
I checked my watch again. Oh no! I’d told Ella that I’d be at her house at 4:15, so we could look up hairstyles for the Winter Ball on Saturday. I turned around and headed towards her house. It wasn’t far. I rang the doorbell and danced around trying to warm up as I waited for her to answer.
“Kayli! Where have you been?” Ella opened the door to let me into the unusually dark house.
“Yeah, sorry, long story but ….” Before I could finish my sentence, the lights flashed on and shouts of “Surprise! Happy Birthday!” attacked me from every side as my friends and family jumped out from behind doors, under tables, and around corners.
It was the best birthday party ever, and when I finally made it to my bedroom that night, it wasn’t to burst into tears. It was to drift off to sleep thanking God for such a great day and hugging Solomon as he curled up beside me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Solomon puked on my bed in the middle of the night. I had to take a shower, give that stupid dog a bath, and change my sheets at 2:00 a.m.!” My mom made some sympathetic noises and handed me a glass of O.J. I finished breakfast and got ready for school, hoping that my day would be better than my night had been. An hour later I walked through the school doors, and so far it didn’t look promising.
“Whoa! What happened to you?” Ella, my best friend, greeted me as I walked into school with the rest of our friends not far behind her. They all had to make a comment on my appearance.
“Hey, Frosty, where’s your corncob pipe and button nose?”
“Geez, Kayli, did you walk here?”
“Hey Rudolph, what’s up?”
“Enough already! I missed the bus. Okay?” I was bright red from the cold and wrapped in every article of clothing known to man. It was January in the Midwest - single digit temperatures with an artic wind chill, and I’d had to walk the five blocks from our house to school. Typically my friends are great at birthdays. Somebody always makes a cake and we give each other presents. We even decorate the honoree’s locker. With this in mind, I slowly thawed as I walked towards my locker with great expectations, my arms loaded down with the layers of sweaters and scarves I’d just taken off. I could see from down the hall that my locker was bare - no balloons. No signs. No streamers. “Okay,” I thought, “They must’ve crammed everything inside. When I open it, it’s going to burst out.” I picked up my pace in anticipation. Nothing. It was my plain old locker – just the way I’d left it yesterday afternoon. “I know. They’re waiting for lunch. They’ll surprise me then.” No, nothing then either and so my day went. No one even said, “Happy birthday.” By 3:30, I’d failed a history test, gotten a rip in the seat of my jeans, broken a Petri dish, and spilled half a cup of hot chocolate down my sweater. I was ready to get out of there.
I rode the bus home in silence, ignoring my friends. When it reached my house, I stepped off without saying goodbye. I wanted nothing more than to make it to my bedroom so I could let loose the tears that had been threatening all afternoon. I didn’t get that luxury though because as soon as I stepped into the house, Madi, my little sister, sprang at me. She was yelling and jumping around. I could barely understand her.
“Aaahhh!!!! Guess what?! Oh you’ll never guess! I have to tell you! The Bremers are taking me to the Bahamas with them over spring break! They want me to help with the kids so they can have some ‘couple time.’” I’m so excited I can’t stand it!”
I stared at her in disbelief, dropped my backpack where I stood, and walked right back out the door. I started walking aimlessly. “The Bremers were MY kids. I babysat for them first! I’ve babysat for them longer! Madi’s only been watching them like six months! I should be the one going to the Bahamas!” I took a breath to stifle a sob. “Are you mad at me, God?! What did I do to deserve a day like this?” I walked and cried and yelled at God and my friends. I don’t know how long I walked before I noticed that it was snowing – really snowing. It had formed a blanket over the trees, the rooftops, the streets, lampposts, and mailboxes. They were all covered in white. It was beautiful. Breathtaking. I stopped walking and took in the beauty around me. I closed my eyes and listened. It was then, in the silence that only freshly fallen snow can bring, that I remembered our scripture verse from last Sunday: “Those who know My name, put their trust in Me.” The words pierced my heart like an arrow. “Oh Lord!” I cried out. “I DO trust You! I to trust You more! I just totally forgot You today. I’m so sorry.” Tears stung my eyes. My day could’ve been so much better. I checked my watch. Out loud, I said, “Hey it’s only 4:45. I’ve got the whole evening ahead of me.” A squirrel, digging through the snow presumably for a buried nut, looked up at me as if I’d addressed him, so I did, “I could have a God-attitude instead of a me-attitude for the next seven hours and fifteen minutes!”
I checked my watch again. Oh no! I’d told Ella that I’d be at her house at 4:15, so we could look up hairstyles for the Winter Ball on Saturday. I turned around and headed towards her house. It wasn’t far. I rang the doorbell and danced around trying to warm up as I waited for her to answer.
“Kayli! Where have you been?” Ella opened the door to let me into the unusually dark house.
“Yeah, sorry, long story but ….” Before I could finish my sentence, the lights flashed on and shouts of “Surprise! Happy Birthday!” attacked me from every side as my friends and family jumped out from behind doors, under tables, and around corners.
It was the best birthday party ever, and when I finally made it to my bedroom that night, it wasn’t to burst into tears. It was to drift off to sleep thanking God for such a great day and hugging Solomon as he curled up beside me.
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