July 21, 2014, exactly a year ago, I woke up with much excitement and great birthday expectations. At the same time, part of me was secretly struggling to accept my new age… “38”. For some reason I could not accept my age reaching such high numbers… anyways, as I console myself with positive reasoning, I still decided to do the math. Yes I actually took out a calculator and subtracted: 2014-1977= ___ To my great surprise, the answer was 37! I was not 38, I was 37! lol

Now you might think this was good news for me, well yes, but just for a min. It wasn’t long before I realized I had totally missed out on being 36. I had lived a whole year behaving, aching and believing older.

Can you image that?  I felt cheated!  I spent the rest of my 37th birthday analyzing the factors that had led me to forget a whole year of “youthful living”. Now if you, who are reading this, are younger than 36, you may find my concern to be invalid, but if you are older, you know how precious the low numbers are. So, I began to think of the clothes I had worn, the style, the colors, the places I had not visited, the jokes I had not laughed at, just because I had to “act my age”.

I realized, I had been too busy, too involved and preoccupied with the nonsense of life.

Finally, I came to terms with reality, and decided to be thankful for being 37, at least I had another year to not be 38. lol

NOW, the great news is that, throughout my 37th year, my life was blessed beyond my imagination could ever fathom. Literary, my life has taken a turn toward abundant living. Did it mean shedding layers of rejection, insecurities, confusion, religion? YES. Did it take a new mentality? YES. Did it take new friends? Yes. Did it take a new God? NO, He is still the same, He does not change, I had to change to know Him better.

Only 12 months later, my life is different. Now at 38, my sphere of influence has increased from local to global. My friends continue to be close, faithful, and handpicked. The only difference is that I don’t pick them myself anymore. At the level that my life flows, my friends are now chosen by my amazing heavenly Father.

Just last week, one of my new friends, offered to stand by me if I choose to live 36 Again and for the First Time. I consider that offer, one of the greatest gifts I can receive today. It is marvelous that God has surrounded me with unique friends who can help me recover what had been lost. I am ready to regain the youth and fun of 36, and perfect the wisdom of 38!

I am thankful for life, love and creativity. I am thankful for my friends.

#ClydeRivers #ReubenEgolf #WomenAddValue #FuerzayHonor #BrianWilliams #iChangeNations#GlobalCongress #Friends #OriginalJL #NaShonWalker #YOU #MyGoD #MyFamily.