My Jubilee

The phone rang this morning a little before eight o'clock, it was my mom singing Happy Birthday, the same call she's made every year since I moved away from home. God she's sweet.

I get pretty psyched about birthdays, subscribing to the concept of the birthday month. Some people find my enthusiasm a little off-putting. To the naysayers I proclaim, "Shut up and have a cupcake!" Maybe it's because I witnessed an entire generation of people die very young that I appreciate having a birthday, you know, versus NOT having a birthday.

Today marks the beginning of my year of Jubilee...my 49th birthday.

Here's a little poem that speaks to a year of emancipation and restoration.

make a pilgrimage
to the center of your soul
along the way
forgive others

forgive yourself
whose hand alone
spreads a healing balm
on open wounds

what is owed
spills from the urn of forgiveness,
broken at the foot
of the altar

labor only
to lay the bedrock
of the road
leading you to Jubilee