Celebrations

Good morning, Five Minute Families! We hope you are enjoying your days with your loved ones. Parents, the time is short, though the days may seem long, so always remember to take at least five minutes a day to soak in the joys of each of your children - their individual characteristics, their unique contribution to your family, and the ways you can celebrate who God created them to be. In this time of graduations and weddings in the United States, many of us are receiving numerous invitations of celebration. So, let’s take the next few minutes and look at celebration from a biblical perspective. God implements different feasts and festivals throughout the Old Testament in celebrations of remembrance and honor of His deliverance, protection, provision, and more. As a not-so-great party planner, times of celebration often sneak up on me and while I vow to do better the next time, it seems to keep happening again and again. But, still, why do we celebrate?2 Chronicles 15:7 tells us that when God’s people worked toward His glory and their good, they were rewarded. It specifically states, “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” What are rewards? Rewards are celebrations of jobs well-done. Just as a first place runner wins a prize at the end of a race, we are to celebrate the work and accomplishments of our family members. Some of us will receive promotions or scholarships; some will have felt they barely got by to the next step, but either way, we should reward hard work and perseverance.Let’s keep in mind that the who we celebrate utmost is the Lord. The feasts of the Bible rightly celebrated God because of what He had done and would do for His people - the Israelites and those of us later grafted in to the Tree of Life. Even when we are celebrating earthly accomplishments of our family members, we must remember that God brings about all good gifts. Thus, just as God rewards those who are with Him, we can celebrate our loved ones. Just as with the feasts of the Bible, celebrations come in all forms. Some families love to have big blow-out parties with decorations, food, desserts, presents, music, and more. Others are much more low-key and opt more for a special dinner out with a few quiet ‘congratulations’ spoken. No matter how you and your loved ones celebrate, make sure that times of celebration are a part of your interactions with one another. Remember, five-minute families, some celebrations for one member of the family can cause suffering for another member. We each have our own experiences that influence our thoughts, feelings, and emotions when celebration is called for. Sometimes, it is because competition meant that someone lost and someone won. Sometimes, a loved one is happy, but due to changes, another is sad. I remember when my sister was getting married, I was going through some medical testing, and one of the set of tests was a day of psychological testing. I was asked to describe a picture of a beautiful wedding. I described the bride. Then, I was asked to describe the other people in the wedding party. I began to cry and cry. I thought, “Oh my goodness, they are going to think I am crazy.” But, the reality was that I was crying not because I didn’t want her to get married but because my relationship with my sister would never be the same once she was. It couldn’t be; it shouldn’t be. But, that change that the celebration would bring was still hard for my young heart. A second point to remember well with celebrations is that everyone is going to have an idea of how it should be handled, even if that idea is that they don’t have to do anything but show up. We must all remember that we are to honor God in every celebration, so don’t forget to pray together in the planning, enjoy the differences of opinion, and accept that someone needs to be in charge, and it might not be you. When we take the time to celebrate together, honoring God and enjoying one another accomplishments, we have an opportunity to shine a light for others to see God’s goodness. When we Christ-followers have good and godly celebrations, taking into account one another’s needs, wants, and desires, we bring Him glory yet again because those who do not yet know the Lord as their Savior can see that joy, silliness, and fun are indeed a part of the Christian walk. Seriously, think for a minute about those people who are so uptight that they don’t see that our lives here on earth are not about a list of rules - a list of do’s and don’t’s - but our lives are to be lived abundantly in pleasure and fellowship. Celebrate. Ask the Lord to bring joy into your hearts as you look for those areas to reward and celebrate. Thank you for joining us this week. Be blessed!