Last Updated on October 25, 2024 by Chris and Lindsay
(October 24, 2024)
I turned 43 the other day. As the “Happy Birthdays!” came through in text messages and Facebook posts, my general response to my friends and family was that prime years tend to be good years for me.
I don’t really know where that came from or why I have adopted it for at least the past 3 prime birthdays (41, 37, 31).
But I can say that 42, which is supposed to be the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything” according to one of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams (reference “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” in book format, or film, both are equally stellar), was a good year but not one in which I would say the Universe revealed the ultimate answer.
Still, birthdays tend to inspire forward-thinking in a far more personal way than New Year’s.
Everybody does not recognize October 23rd as their birthday. Instead, it belongs to me and a guy in Baja everyone knows as “Santa Wayne,” as well as probably a few million more people across the seven continents.
But everybody celebrates New Year’s (I know, half the world celebrates different versions of it on different dates!). New Year’s evokes a general movement toward self-improvement. The old year is gone, the new one is here, let’s all eat lettuce and get gym memberships!
Birthdays, on the other hand, are entirely subjective and deeply personal. I, for one, count my birthday as just another day in the year. I’ve never been one for celebrations, and while at times and in particular situations I have a tendency to move myself subtly toward the center of attention, I am not one to enjoy being celebrated otherwise.
Whether you celebrate your birthday with glam and glitter by going out to dinner and enjoying candles and cake or prefer to stay in and eat Panda Express and Dairy Queen while watching Season 3 of Seinfeld (what a good night that was!), the reality is one day of the year tends to define us more than any.
I would go on a limb to claim that one word defines this day more than any other for most, if not all, of us: hope.
“I hope you have a great day! I hope this is a great year! I hope you enjoy time with loved ones! I hope you get what you asked for! I hope…”
These are the most common phrases we hear from childhood regarding our one special day of each year. There is nothing wrong with it. But like so many words, it has a tendency to lose meaning when used casually.
Hope is also a word that is common this time of year in such a polarizing political climate.
“I hope so and so wins. I hope so and so loses. I hope people realize such and such about so and so. I hope so and so doesn’t end such and such when they get into office.”
I recently listened to an interview with a Christian comedian (yes, they do exist!) who reminded the audience that we should not use the word hope so carelessly. There is something beyond the realm of politics or of what a new year will bring following a birthday that should inspire us to look past the things that will ultimately prove trivial when we are lying on our deathbeds some many years down the road.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that “faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
This is not to discount hope and its role and purpose in our lives. But I am grateful for the reminder that even hope is subservient to love. Love should be the focus in life, with faith and hope working together toward completeness.
By all accounts, forty-three should be a good year for me. I’ve recently visited all of the doctors who have checked all of the bodily functions and systems that report back that, all things considered, I am alive.
We’re selling our motorhome and purchasing a brand-new truck and trailer for the next chapter of our lives. And we will be leading an amazing group of eager guests on a 40-day wander through Baja in February. Our Baja caravan business is expanding exponentially to the point we have real business problems to solve (would you like to get paid to lead one of our caravan tours next winter?!)
And, (spoiler alert) Lindsay and I have already committed to returning to South Dakota for what we believe (hope!) will be one last season to hold us over between caravan seasons.
Things are lining up in such a way I would be inclined to hope they all go halfway as well as we have planned.
Is that the proper use of the word hope?
It is when supported by faith and directed toward a life of love.
As you have likely noticed if you’ve kept up with these weekly updates recently, I try to keep the theme of the newsletter focused on one particular word or topic and then weave stories, experiences, and reflections into what I hope will move you toward looking at something in your life a little differently.
This week the word “hope” seemed fitting as the word was infused into so many well-wishes for my birthday. Then I realized that many emails I send out on a daily basis begin with the phrase, “I hope you are well.” And I heard it mentioned several times on various news outlets related to the upcoming election and I thought… now is the time to reflect on hope.
As I took a few hours off between starting and finishing this note to you, I had a simple outpatient procedure done to remove a pretty gnarly mass of varicose veins from my left leg. The great thing about this procedure is it is minimally invasive, can be performed in the doctor’s office and does not require anything more than local anesthesia.
The bad thing about this procedure is that it was explained to me how it works. A small incision was made just above my knee on my inner thigh, into which a long probe was pushed upward under the direction of ultrasound imaging and the long, unnecessary veins that were pooling and collecting blood were “zapped” with heat until they closed.
The procedure took around 20 minutes. But for every one of those 20 minutes I laid on the table fully aware of what was going on, doing my best to imagine anything other than the details to which the doctor explained the procedure.
If you’ve ever had any surgery performed, the idea of “minimally invasive” only eases a little concern over the fact that someone from the outside is probing around on your insides.
As I fought the thoughts about what was happening inside my thigh, I began to think about how to wrap up this short update and began to focus on the words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians… Faith… Hope… Love…
All three are necessary components of what Lindsay and I call the Abundant Life. But one thing stood out to me more than anything else as I reflected on what each word meant and how it applied to our pursuit of the Abundant Life of the road.
Faith and hope are established with the future in mind. I won’t break down a reflection of the word faith in this newsletter. But if you spend a little time thinking about it, faith typically applies to some future thing.
I have faith that this will work out. I have faith that I’ll go to Heaven. I have faith that my team won’t let me down…
Hope, as I’ve related, is also for the future.
Yet Love resides right here and now in the present. I think this is what Paul was trying to share with us and why Love is so important.
Whether you care for Paul’s (and my) views on eternity, etymologically speaking, I think I’m not too far off in interpreting the profound connection between each of these words and their relationship with time.
The day after my birthday, I am filled with hope for what the new year will bring. I have faith that everything I hope will happen in the year will work out somewhat the way I have in mind.
But what about love?
Well, for the next 364 days until my next birthday, I am going to be more intentional about pursuing, embracing, understanding, and sharing love in every present moment.
I am not the greatest at this. Focusing on love in a world that seems so hostile toward it is challenging. When two neighbors or friends may be torn apart over political views (God-forbid we recall the relationships lost during the COVID years, of which I am included in the loss) or anger is our first response when someone cuts us off in traffic or at the grocery line or the news commentator says something for which we don’t agree.
I’ve not heard about anyone making a “Birthday Resolution.” I’m sure there are people out there who do and Google definitely has results for the phrase. However, why wait until New Year to focus on a commitment to improving oneself by dwelling on love as often as possible in the moment?
This year will be a good year for me. Its a prime year, after all. But I pray things work out halfway as good as I hope they do, not because I have faith that they will, but because I find myself wrapped up in love more often than not, living more fully in the present than I ever have, knowing that the hope and faith I have are simply foundational for the Love I have and share with the world.
I hope you will continue to pursue an Abundant Life wherever your circumstances may take you. I pray this leads to a life of love, both for you and those around you who will benefit from the overflow.
I’m excited about 43! I’m grateful you’ve taken the time to join Lindsay and me on our wanderings!
In Baja news, we have filled our Wander to Baja RV Caravan and are helping promote our friends at Baja Amigos in filling 3 remaining spots on their January 6th and March 6th 30-day caravan departures! Let us know if you’re interested in hopping on one of these!
And as a reminder, if you are interested in anything and everything we do related to Baja, please consider joining our newsletter at RVingBaja.com.
PS – I’ve used the word “hope” 31 times (also a prime number!) in this email, 32 if you count that reference! Such a wonderful word!
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