I have three birthdays this week. Allow me to explain.
September 20 is my biological birthday. On that day in 1977, my mother gave birth to me. I came into this world kicking and screaming (I presume—can’t say I remember the event), naked and crying, a clean slate for a life story yet to be written.
When I was four years old, I was in an accident that smashed my skull open and damaged my brain (at least I have something to blame my cognitive quirks on, even forty years later). My mother recently shared with me that the doctors told her I was dead (though they probably used a less emotion-invoking word) only to say shortly after that they had brought me back.
That was September 15, 1981, when I died and came back to life. I refer to this as my mental birthday, because the accident erased all of my prior declarative memory and therefore (as far as I am concerned) that is where my mind begins. This idea has influenced a lot of the musical personas and fictional characters I’ve created over the years.
On September 15 of last year, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. This was my spiritual birthday, when I was born again. I had no idea at the time that the same exact date almost four decades earlier was the day I was reborn into the physical world. That’s just how God lines things up sometimes (because He is awesome like that).
What do I want for my three birthdays? Honestly, I just want to keep enjoying the blessings that God has already given me. I want to keep falling and keep getting up. I want to keep growing in my faith, walking with Jesus, and living with the Spirit that helps me be a shining light in this world of darkness.
As I release new books, music, and other projects (hopefully in the next few months), they will reflect my new life in Christ. I hope you’ll stick with me on the journey, and I pray that God will use me to help light your way.
Disclaimer: I know I used a lot of parentheticals (but it’s my three birthdays and I’ll use parentheses if I want to…).
Joseph VanBuren 