Celebration

 Pretty much every morning my daughter wishes me an enthusiastic “good morning!” usually followed by a “Happy Birthday mommy” which I love.  Children are phenomenal at celebration and even the simplest of things like cinnamon sugar sprinkled on pancakes can bring a level of excitement and joy that most adults won’t hit in a year.   What wall do we hit in our adolescence that forces our drive for celebration to be thrown from our lives as we travel toward adulthood?  Because I suggest that we figure out where we dropped it, pull over and get it back.

If you read through the books of law in the Old Testament you’ll notice that God repeatedly commands Israel to put celebrations and festivals in their annual calendar.  He commands them rest and celebrate, feast and festival.  And there are consequences if they decide to ignore his command, pretty serious ones like death.  Now I am not suggesting we take it that far at all, but I think that as adults we need to return to Gods call to rest and celebrate. 

We are committed to celebration in our marriage, to rest and to rhythm.  So when milestones come along we carve out time no matter where we are financially to celebrate in some way, big or small.  Our busy lifestyles tend to make us believe that celebration is frivolous and wasteful but I can assure you that God says otherwise.    I know that many of you let birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and other milestones pass by without any sort of pomp or party.  I have found immense connection and joy in being intentional about the practice of celebration. 

Growing up I saw my parents repeatedly let their anniversary pass with no celebration that distinguished it from any other day of the calendar year.  I vowed that when I got married I would take elaborate trips and go out to fancy dinners on my anniversary, somewhere really nice, like Applebee’s or TGI Fridays.  Thankfully my taste in sub-par restaurants fell away but my dedication to make celebration part of my life stuck around.  So for the past few years we have taken a night at a Bed and Breakfast coupled with a fancy dinner out.  And two days ago when my daily blog hits soared above 100 for the first time I headed down to the wine shop and bought a bottle of red, and after the kids nodded off for the night, my husband and I toasted God’s faithfulness and prayed for dedication to continue down the paths God is leading us on.

I hope that God stirs you up as you read this, don’t believe the lie that any birthday after 21 isn’t worth celebrating.  Life is worth celebrating and milestones are so much sweeter and relationships deeper as a result of celebration.  God is calling you to this, what is holding you back?  Those are my thoughts, a penny for yours?