Celebrate Good Times

Bill and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary this weekend. We're very low-key about celebrating- something that I'm hoping to change about myself. I want to learn the Art and the Secret of Celebration- because I believe it whallops the Enemy when we all-out celebrate victories and milestones in our lives. (The Enemy of our Soul is the king of "raining on your parade").

But it was a good celebration- even if it wasn't exactly the most romantic. My parents took us all out for dinner, and it was great to have our two kids celebrate with us. I watched everybody as they talked around the table at the restaurant and I noticed so many things.

My mother, for instance, is the most amusing and hysterical person you have ever met. She is ...erhumpf...uh.... 80 years old ...ssshhh, and yet she told my 17 year old she wants to be his band's Agent, and get them bookings! What a hoot she is! Since she has battled depression and has raised five children with a minimum of the modern day resources of today, I say she is entitled to think exuberantly, and to Go For it! Book him at a big arena, mom!

My Dad was his usual self- assessing our progress, coaching us in our individual pursuits, ordering the best and the most interesting from the menu. My son was witty and bantering back and forth with his grandmother, and my daughter was looking beautiful and sweet, as 13 yr olds look in their glory.

My husband and I said the least because we were enjoying watching our kids with my parents. He doesn't have to say much for me to sense his peace and his enjoyment. It has never taken a lot to make my husband happy. (Lord, what did I do to deserve this man?!) He has patiently put up with my occasional tirades, my bursts of creative enthusiasm and the voyages I then take into the unknown. He will open the oven door with a sigh, and take out the dirty pots and pans that I hide in there when I can't get to them, and he'll wash them without a complaint. He will crack funny jokes to try to induce a better mood from me on those days that are a bit too long or too dark. He is a Renaissance man, of many talents, and fairly quiet about them.

Lately, hope has been arising in our spirits, and a sense of destiny- God's divine calling- is before us. He and I have "history" together, but we also have a destiny before us. That we have stayed in step with each other is amazing- but not when you think about the fact that we both long to stay in step with God most of all.

I was a pioneer girl, and am a spiritual mountain climber now. I've been a lot of things: afraid, adventurous, a student living abroad, a pastor's wife, a real estate agent, a teacher of the Word; I've been frustrated when I've been held back, and I've been excited about growth and change. I've journeyed with my husband for over 23 years, and he has seen me in a lot of different places, roles, conditions, crises, and moods. I celebrate the fact that he wants to see what's next in my life, as I can't wait to see what God does in his.

We're celebrating the progress of anything that rises above the ordinary- and LOVE is at the top of the list.