In the early hours of today, my birthday, which also falls on a Easter weekend, I found myself reflecting deeply. I was asked two simple yet profound questions: What are you grateful for today? And Looking back over the past year, what would you have done differently?
I paused, smiled, and answered with clarity:
I am grateful for a sound mind.
That may sound simple, but the older I get, the more I realize how priceless that gift is. A sound mind is not just about the absence of confusion or anxiety. It’s about mental clarity, the ability to see life as it is, not through fear, but through faith. It’s about emotional stability, being anchored even when everything around you feels uncertain. It’s about rational thinking, making wise, thoughtful decisions, not reactive ones. It’s about being able to hold peace within, even when chaos surrounds you.
A sound mind is the steady rhythm of grace beating in the background of everyday life. It is self-awareness that doesn’t shame you, but gently invites you to grow. It is the power to choose again and again, the kind of person you want to become, even after seeming failures. It is learning to say, “That wasn’t my best moment, but it was a moment and I’ve grown from it.”
This Easter weekend, I am reminded of something deeper: that the resurrection of Jesus wasn’t just about defeating death. It was about renewing life. Jesus’ rising from the tomb wasn’t only proof of divinity, it was a declaration of freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from shame. Freedom from cycles that try to convince us we are stuck.
The resurrection is also deeply personal. It speaks into the corners of our hearts where we struggle silently, the doubts we carry, the guilt we try to hide, the emotional burdens we think we should have healed from by now. Easter whispers, “Come alive again.”
So when I say I’m grateful for a sound mind, I’m also saying I’m grateful for the Spirit that resurrects clarity out of confusion, peace out of turmoil, and wisdom out of chaos. This is resurrection power, not always loud and spectacular, but consistent, faithful, and healing.
As for what I would have done differently this past year?
Honestly, nothing.
Not because I got it all right, I didn’t. But because I’ve learned the value of grace. That’s the beauty of growth and adaptability: you come to understand that mistakes are not disqualifiers; they’re teachers. Regret doesn’t have to weigh you down when you walk with self-compassion. I’ve learned to forgive myself quickly, reflect deeply, and move forward intentionally.
This birthday feels different. Not just because it falls during Easter, but because I feel reborn in new ways. I feel lighter. Wiser. More anchored. I’ve come to cherish the invisible victories, the moments I chose not to panic, not to retaliate, not to give up, not to speak badly of someone, not to abandon myself. Those are the wins no one sees, but heaven celebrates.
So today, I don’t just celebrate my birth, I celebrate resurrection. I celebrate the grace that held me through uncertain seasons. I celebrate the power of becoming. I celebrate me, not the perfect version, but the present one. The one who is growing. Healing. Learning. Evolving. The one who is not afraid to begin again.
And I celebrate the One who makes all things new.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” — 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.” — Matthew 28:6 (NKJV)
Happy Easter. And Happy Birthday to me.
