Today is my birthday! It’s hard to believe that I’m celebrating 61 trips around the sun, but here I am! I’m looking forward to the future while cherishing the memories and lessons of the past.
Here I Am!
Birthdays have a way of inviting us to pause and take inventory, not simply of accomplishments or milestones, but of the people, experiences, joys, sorrows, and unexpected turns that have shaped us. We have all loved and lost. Each of us have hoped, only to have had our dreams, and our hearts, broken. At 61, I find myself less interested in arriving somewhere and more interested in paying attention to the journey itself.
A friend recently shared with me his assessment of myself. He texted, “You are too old of a dog to think too much about what other folks think.”
True.
I’ve learned that life rarely unfolds according to our plans, yet God remains faithful in every season. Some lessons have come through celebration; others have come through hardship. Both have been valuable teachers.
As I begin a new year, I am grateful for my wife, Terri, and for family, friends, readers, fellow travelers, as well as all those who have encouraged me along the way. I am grateful for another day to create, to learn, to love, to serve, and to bear witness to God’s goodness in the ordinary moments of life.
I don’t know exactly what the coming year will bring. There are still stories to write, pictures to paint, conversations to speak, and adventures yet to unfold. There are still opportunities to grow in wisdom, kindness, patience, and faith. For that, I am deeply thankful.
So today, I celebrate because I recognize life is a gift. None of us are promised tomorrow. Every sunrise is an invitation. Every breath is grace. Every year is another chapter in a story that God is still writing.
Here’s to 61.
Until my next post…
Be salty, stay lit.
Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™
© 2026 Rainer Bantau | The Devotional Guy™ | All Rights Reserved
The Devotional Guy™ 
Thank you!
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Thank you Olatunde!
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Thank you Nicola!
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Thank you Hazel!
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Thank you 🙏!
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Happy Birthday from your newest fan! 🎂🎉⭐️
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Happy Birthday!
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Thank you 🙏
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Happy Birthday! Amen to another chapter God is writing for you!
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Happy Birthday Rainer! May your growth be slow and steady … so you might enjoy it!
🙏🏼 thank you for all that you share with us, your readers … and friends!
Jodi ✨
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Happy Birthday enjoy your day 🎂🎊🎉
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I hope you had a happy birthday! Celebrate one more day, for good measure. 🙂 God bless.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAINER!
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Happy birthday Rainer. Have a blessed day.
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Thank you 🙏
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Happy birthday! Grace, peace, joy from our Lord
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Thank you 🙏
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Happy Birthday, brother! I hope you have a great day.
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Blessed happy birthday, Brother Rainer!
May Jesus fill your heart with more peace and joy, surround you with more love in the family with more faithful friends. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire you to inspire us too in your writings and life of witnessing. God bless!
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Happy birthday rainer. Enjoy the party today. God bless!
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Happy Birthday Rainer. I hope you have a blessed and wonderful day celebrating with Terri. Have fun and enjoy.
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Happy birthday 🎉, long life and prosperity.
May the Good Lord continue to keep you in Jesus’ Name.
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