This is Amber on turning 40. Thank you for spending your birthday with us Amber. We hope to see you again soon!

I recently turned 40 and struggled with the thought of getting older. I never imagined I would be turning 40 single and having no children. I just knew that by the time I turned 35 I would be married, own a home and be a mother. None of the above happened. I just looked up one day and I was 39.

It was as if January 1st of this year came and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve always been a confident person but the thought of not being where I thought I would be by this age was a tough pill to swallow. But God works in mysterious ways. My best friend noticed a change in me and set me down for a good heart to heart. I explained to her that I wasn’t in a good place and struggling with turning 40.

As I’m sure you know your friends can often see what you don’t see in yourself. She opened my eyes to all the other things I have accomplished. I’m single but there is nothing wrong with that. She reminded me that I’ve always refused to settle.

She also reminded me that I love to travel and being able to move and do things on my own time. This would be very difficult to do with children. In this moment it was as if light bulb turned on in my head. I realized that I am living in the moment that God had planned for me. I was comparing myself to what and where others thought I should be in life.

I recognized that before now I was very happy with how my life was going. I was allowing the pressures and expectations of certain family members to dictate how I felt about myself or what I should be doing with my life. It is still sometimes a daily struggle to remind myself that I am enough. That where I am stand at this very moment is enough. After reading about the women Over 40 project I knew that this was something I had to participate in.

Turning 40 is a blessing and just another opportunity to be the best woman I can be.