by Renee Scott 

Today is my 40th birthday and I'm shouting it from the roof top.  I feel so blessed to be able to post for my church on my special day.  It's hard to explain but I have an excitement and expectation about this birthday more than any other.  I fully embrace this new season in my life.

From a spiritual standpoint, the number 40 represents the ending of a trial, test, or period of challenge.  The end of opposition...yes, I'm excited!  I know some dread another year especially if they're turning forty.  Thank God that's not my mood today.

Throughout the Bible, the number 40 has major significance.
*       40 weeks of pregnancy before life is birthed.
*       Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness in preparation for His ministry (Matthew 4:2)
*       40 days & nights Noah spent in the ark waiting for the rain to end (Genesis 6-9)
*       40 years in the wilderness before the Israelites could crossover into the Promiseland (Deuteronomy 8:2-5)
*       40 days Moses was in the mount and received the law of God (Exodus 24:18)
As I head into my birthday, I've just finished an eight week period of intense counseling.  The process began during the Beautiful retreat.  The timing is not coincidental.  Over the past few weeks I've been forced to deal with my past in ways I've never had to.  Accepting God's forgiveness and His love toward me was vital and instrumental.  Letting go of anger and accepting responsibility was also part of the journey.

For years I've walked around masked.

My painful past became commonplace and my normal.  I manipulated myself into believing that I could just push down hurts and pains, never deal with them, and still have wholeness in my life.  Boy was I wrong.

I've been broken to be restored!

Despite how hard it was to face my past, I know that God designed this time to begin and end before turning forty.  I still have a ways to go in my healing, but I'm ready to face the dawning of a new day.  My cousin recently shared that my next decade will shape me! What I thought I knew will be challenged and what I learn will strengthen me for the journey ahead! He challenged me to enjoy my forties and live these next ten years with the curiosity of a child, learning everything as if I never knew!

Will you help me celebrate today?  If you're over 40, I would love to hear some wonderful words of wisdom.  Leave a comment below and I promise to read every single one!

Renee Scott is co-founder of the popular blog,  www.doubleportioninspiration.blogspot.com ,where she shares encouragement and inspiration to men and women all over the world.  She’s been a member of Grace Family Church for four years. She loves to run and recently completed her first half marathon. She is a wife of over 14 years and mother of two children.