Iris’ 70th Birthday! Giving Thanks for 70 Years of Grace.
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
A birthday party canceled by COVID becomes a gift to the Kingdom
Iris Windom had never thrown herself a real birthday party. Other than childhood gatherings with family, there had never been a celebration just for her.
So in 2020, she decided to change that. She found the perfect venue. Hired a band. Planned every detail. Bought the perfect party dress and sparkly shoes. She even purchased a plane ticket for her mother to fly in from Akron, Ohio. Everyone she knew was invited.
March 12, 2020 arrived. So did COVID. Everything shut down on her birthday.
When Life Takes a Different Shape
"Since then, life has taken on a very different shape," Iris reflects.
Her mom passed away. She retired from decades of work. She's been blessed with travel to Israel, Turkey, Greece, Tanzania, Mexico, Ghana, and across the U.S. But one thing she never did was plan another party.
Until a few months ago, when she attended a friend's birthday cruise. Surrounded by family and friends, it was joyful and meaningful. And it made Iris wonder: maybe it was finally time to celebrate her own milestone.
She started talking with friends about planning that big 70th birthday bash. Then one friend asked a simple question that changed everything: "How much do you want to spend?"
Iris didn't know. But as she considered what a real celebration would cost, a different thought took root:
What if I invested that money in ministry instead?
A Heart Transformed
For the past few years, Iris has been partnering with Mosaic International. If you've been following her story, you might remember her 2024 missions trip to Tanzania, where everything shifted. Read it here.
"Each person I touched, touched me back even more deeply," she shared after that trip. "My soul, my spirit, was richly blessed."
The Great Commission stopped being words on a page. It became real, tangible, alive. She saw Christ's love demonstrated through local churches. She witnessed communities rallying around their most vulnerable. She experienced what it truly means to serve and be served.
After much prayer, Iris made her decision: she would donate her birthday party to Mosaic International.
An Invitation Born from Gratitude
Psalm 90:10 promises us seventy years. As Iris approaches this milestone, she's stepping out in faith with a simple invitation:
Give $70 in honor of her 70th year.
From March 1-31, 2026, Iris will match every $70 donation up to $7,000. If $70 isn't possible, any amount is welcomed. If you feel led to give more, that blessing is appreciated too.
This is about more than fundraising. It's about turning gratitude into generosity. It's about taking all the disappointment of a canceled party, the grief of losing her mother, the gifts of travel and transformation, and offering them back.
Every gift provides clean water, food, sustainable solutions, and community-centered care through local church partnerships around the world.
"I can't imagine a better way to celebrate this milestone year than by helping build the Kingdom of the Most High," Iris says.
As she celebrates what God has done in her seventy years, she's inviting all of us to celebrate what God will do next.
Your gift will be matched through March 31, 2026.
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