This weekend was a birthday triple-header for our family: Jack turned 77 in dog years, Lars turned 39 in human years, and Emerald turned one precious baby-year. And the one with the smallest number was the biggest deal.

Although Emerald won’t remem- ber the fun we had in her honor, the party was important for 3 reasons: (1) her extended family had a good time getting together; (2) birthday photos will someday show her how joyfully we celebrated her life; (3) we celebrated Birgitta’s year-one survival as a single mom.

Emerald was battling her first-ever illness (a snotty cold and cough), but Birgitta followed through with her plan to visit a local pumpkin farm. Cold windy weather wasn’t ideal, but her sunny personality shone through anyway, even as she smiled through watery eyes and a runny nose.

First birthdays are always special. Buying toys and mini-clothes for a 12 month old is a happy project for any of us, and watching them finger their first hunk of birthday cake is one of the most photographed events of family life.

I remember well our firstborn’s first birthday. It was a double-party with his cousin Julia and a dozen couples with their children. Mary and I cooked two menus: one for the little people and one for their parents. We had games for children and also adults, along with prizes, family photographs, party favors, and 2 homemade cakes. I stayed up till 4:30 am decorating my school bus.

Overkill for sure.

Most of us find it’s easy to get caught up in celebrations. Years ago, we knew a couple that lived from party to party, doing their best to endure regular life in between. We attended one of those, and well after midnight watched the hostess literally tugging on guests who were preparing to leave. “Please don’t go yet!” she said. “Just one more hour!”

Most of life can’t be about merrymaking. That’s because we’re duty-bound to many commitments that aren’t very much fun. That’s especially true for those of us trying to follow biblical guidelines: “May you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands.” (1 Kings 8:61)

Being faithful to the Lord includes things like working steadily on troubled relationships, following through on commitments, reaching toward blameless character, and repeatedly asking God’s forgiveness for personal sin. None of these would fly as good party themes.

That’s not to say there aren’t party times coming. Scripture promises good eating, lots of singing, a spirit of rejoicing, grand adventures, and satisfying relationships…. eventually.

Since God has always been faithful to us, these duty-bound days should be used to be faithful to him as an effective lead-in to the celebratory days ahead. And maybe it’s even ok to make a big deal out of birthdays now, if we’ll just view them as foretastes of the great parties in store for later.

So… Happy Birthday, Emerald, Lars, and Jack!

“He always stands by his covenant — the commit- ment he made to a thou- sand generations.” (Psalm 105:8)