Birthdays and Learning Contentment

I turn 31 years old today. I don't really feel 31. It seems really strange to me that I have been around for 31 years. It hit me when I saw a friend wrote that she is now officially thirty-something. I have just joined that rank.
I have to say that overall it has been a good 31 years. Sure, there have been ups and downs. But overall, life is good. I am at a good place in my life. Not that I am exactly where I thought I'd be, where I want to be, have everything I want, or that life is always good. Overall though, I am at a good place because I am right where God has me. That brings incredible peace and contentment - the kind of contentment Paul talks about Philippians 4:11, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am."
It's really more of an attitude than it is a physical state of being. It's also an attitude that has to be purposefully chosen each day. Somedays it's easier than others, somedays it doesn't get chosen. When I do chose that attitude, life is so much better - life is GOOD. It allows you to enjoy the good things - like wildflowers on the side of a freeway, beautiful clouds in the sky, a delicious piece of chocolate, fun times with friends, the laughter of little children, an amazing piece of music or fascinating artwork. These are all little gifts from God reminding us that the world can be a good place - that there is still beauty in it.
I was very touched Friday when a student from last year came in and brought me a gift. She had visited with me earlier in the week and we chatted a bit as I worked and she killed time before her meeting started. Like many I work with, she has not had an easy life, and yet she works hard and has hope in the future. Anyway, I mentioned it was my birthday this weekend. So today, after school, she walked in with a little bag. I opened up the gift and it was the sweetest little plastic turtle (funny side note - I thought it was a candle holder, until my roommate pointed out that it was actually an ashtray...complete with little cutouts to hold the cigarette...and of course, I don't smoke. This would not be the first time I mistakenly identified an ashtray...making it all the funnier to me, but none the less, I will find a use for it. And really, isn't that what we should do? Take something that has a negative conotation - ashtray - but look at it in a different way and you can actually make something positive out of it - candle holder. What would it be like if we did that with people in our lives we look at negatively? What could they look like if we looked at them in a different way?). I actually love turtles and have several turtle things and this girl didn't know that. She probably had very little spare money and yet she wanted to share that by bringing me a little gift. These are the kinds of things that remind me that God has me where I am for a reason.
So, I am looking forward to this new year. I look forward to what God has in store for me. He's made my life pretty adventurous and exciting. That's kind of cool...