By: Jennifer Richardson Holt
Everyone loves a good celebration.
While having a big party may not be your cup of tea, to make something a special occasion whether it be with a small circle of family and friends or even all to oneself is something that I’d say that the vast majority of people enjoy. I’d say we probably all know a few folks who are pretty apt at pulling something out of thin air simply to make a festive moment out of it.
I myself love a good shindig with fun and laughter, food and décor. I think of favorite holidays, big sporting events or even weddings. The big things are always fun to plan and build anticipation while attempting to make something really memorable.
But everyone makes note of the milestones. That is just the understood course of action, and honestly there is nothing wrong with that. As I said before, I am most assuredly all for it. The thing is though, that most things aren’t special occasions. Across the span of any given amount of time, be it a week, a year, a lifetime, most days aren’t landmark events.
Think about a wedding.
Celebrating the beginning of a marriage can be an extravagant affair where very significant amounts of money can be spent on making a memory to last a lifetime. I am all for a lavish wedding, so I call this a lovely practice. I mean, don’t spend to the point that your new married life can only manage ramen noodles for years to come because of the lobster at your nuptials, but you get what I mean. Go all out because it’s a big deal.
But the real meat of a marriage has very nearly nothing to do with the wedding. Marriage is, in the grand scheme of things, a great many random Tuesday evenings spent deciding what to have for dinner, washing dishes and sorting the bank statements. No one ever decorates for paying bills.
That is where the making of the marriage lies though. It is working through the arguments and making the tough decisions. While the flowers and champagne are lovely to kick things off, really that is just the spark that started the engine. And the engine is going to require maintenance and upkeep. There will be the everyday task of waking up and choosing your spouse all over again.
It may not feel special at the time. It actually very likely will sometimes feel mundane, possibly tedious.
But that is the very thing that will fuel the engine to run long and steadily.
Speaking of relationships, faith too has its share of typical Tuesday evenings.
Beginning a journey to truly know your Creator is a beautiful and momentous moment that should very definitely be celebrated. The planting of the seed of the Christian life is an amazing thing. I think of baptisms and confirmations and the like where the amazing grace of it all begins.
But the life of a Christian does not constantly offer mountaintop views. They are there, dotted throughout and are a source of renewal and refreshing. But faith is just as much in the valley, tending that seed. There are everyday distractions to be weeded out and difficult seasons of testing that require extra fertilizing and pruning. No one even likes these seasons much less do they celebrate them.
The dry or difficult times though are what build strength. The valley is where things grow. The mountaintop is simply where one looks out on the view. Weddings and baptisms look in one direction for their view to celebrate, forward to the new life ahead. Birthdays and anniversaries look both ways admiring the full expanse of life’s scenery. Holidays revel in one easily seen landmark in the view; one specific remembrance.
The times that make all these momentous occasions, well, momentous, are all the ordinary moments in between. The bricks that constructed that anniversary were the everyday choices to show their love for their spouse, even on the days they didn’t like them very much. The stones that built the faith are the ones that stayed stacked despite the weathering of the world around them. The same can be said of parenting. The same can be said of friendships. The same can be said of this whole wide life.
The celebrations are beautiful and appropriate, but so is the showing up every day and doing the next right thing. On those days that feel impossibly typical and humdrum maybe it wouldn’t hurt to remember that those are the days that are setting the stage for the next big occasion. And because of them you can celebrate all the more. Maybe the ordinary days aren’t just waiting for something to celebrate. Maybe they are the things we’ll one day see were worth celebrating all along.
Prose and Possibilities 