Do you ever live life sort of on auto-pilot? Like you do things because "it's just what we do" without ever questioning why we do them. Take for example birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, high school graduation, a baby gender reveal, national doughnut day, etc. You name it, there is probably some official day on the calendar year to celebrate.
A dear friend of mine recently celebrated thirty years of being cancer free. Her family and friends threw a big party to celebrate - full of laughter, joy, and fun! As I reflected, I started to wonder why I too didn't really celebrate my own cancer survivor anniversary. I myself am an Ovarian cancer survivor, going on 14 years strong.
The more I pondered, the more I questioned why we celebrated anything really. Do we celebrate for the accolades or attention? Do we celebrate as an excuse to plan and throw a big party? Do we celebrate to help us feel better about ourselves? Or is celebrating all for naught?
Naturally, I turned to the best trusted resource out there: the internet (haha)! But in all honesty, here are a few great reasons why we ought to celebrate:
It builds community. Celebrations give us prime time to bond with our families and friends. At the celebration we can connect on on a deeper and more profound level with those we care about most.
It gives our life meaning. Celebrating with those close to us helps instill a sense of reverence and appreciation for the gift of life and connects us to a more omnipotent force.
It creates bonds. How many of you to this day still talk about "that one time at so-and-so's party"? Celebrating bonds us together, creates core memories we carry throughout or lives, and strengthens our ties with each other.
It adds excitement to our lives. Celebrating a special event or milestone with our favorite circle of people around is exciting, makes us smile, and is good for our minds and souls.
It gives us something to look forwards to. Planning to attend a special celebration and looking forward to it can do wonders to a person's psyche who may otherwise be down in the dumps or drowning in the monotony of life.
It reminds us of our skills, abilities, and strengths. Celebrating something such as a graduation or wedding anniversary helps us to reflect on all that we have been through and all that we have accomplished thus far.
It helps us keep working towards our goals. Celebrating someone else's milestone (e.g. graduation) while still working towards that milestone yourself helps motivate you to keep going and believe that you too can achieve greatness.
It helps our mental, physical, and social well-being. Celebrating even the smallest event helps boost our bodies to keep trying, keep going, and overcoming all that life throws at us.
Even when we turn to the bible, there are several stories of celebration. Often resulting in food, music, dancing, and a big family gathering.
So why do you celebrate? I believe that many of our celebrations are actually a form of worship and praise to our father in heaven. We celebrate because we are thankful; thankful for the strength he gave us to endure, thankful for the people he put in our lives to guide and support us, thankful for the blessings, miracles, or happenstances along the way, and thankful for the hope our God has given us today and will give us in our next chapter or season.
If you are struggling today about the lack of celebrations in your life, I get it. Life has seasons of intense joy and also seasons of intense pain and sorrow. But that doesn't change the way God feels about you right now - he loves you, like REALLY loves you. Even on your worst day or season, he is still there and deeply cares about you.
If that is you, I challenge you to take a look around and find one thing you can be thankful for (your home, your pet, your friends, your job, your favorite book, or your favorite cozy clothes). Then thank God for it! If you feel lead, throw some confetti (or pillows, or grass clippings, or baking flour) in the air or make a special meal to commemorate (or dare I say celebrate) your thankfulness. You just might find yourself feeling a little lighter or a little more at peace today.
Let's keep celebrating together - even on our darkest days there is always something to be grateful for!
"You brought me from darkness And clothed me in garments of praise Jesus, forever My song will be You, yeah
I'm living in freedom You've taken my burdens away Jesus, forever My song will be You Only for You"