What was the last thing you celebrated? Typically we celebrate the big things like birthdays, and anniversaries with a few big mile markers thrown in like our wedding and retirement.
If we’re honest, I bet most of those “celebrations” are half-hearted. “I guess we should go out to eat because it’s our birthday (or anniversary). So where do you want to go?” And then we have a group of strangers from the service staff of said restaurant sing us the obligatory birthday song.
When you step back and think about it…it doesn’t seem like much of a celebration.
But I bet you can think of a handful of times when you said, “Now, that was a party!” I’ll never forget the surprise party my wife threw for me when I finished my doctorate. All of the secrecy and hard work she put into every detail from my favorite foods down to my favorite local band! (I love that woman!) What a fun night that was! I felt deeply loved.
What if you partied more? No, not the type of partying where you don’t remember anything the next day, but the type of celebration you had when you were married with your friends and family dancing and laughing the night away!
As I think about scripture there seems to be quite a bit of celebration going on. Remarkably, Jesus’ very first recorded miracle was at a wedding party where of all things he turned water into wine. (A crazy way to come out of the closet as divinity.) We even see Jesus being accused of being a glutton and a drunkard (Matt. 11:19). Of course he was neither, but you have to wonder what He was doing to be accused of those things. Not to mention Jesus said a party erupts in heaven every time someone follows Him (Luke 15:7, 10).
So, if you are a follower of Christ and you are blaming your lack of joy and celebration on your faith…stop it. (Prov. 17:22, Deut. 16:14, Nehemiah 8:10, Luke 15:6, Luke 15:9, Luke 15:23-24)
Here are a few reasons you should party more…
1. TO CELEBRATE THE GOOD
It’s easy to forget the joyful moments in life when you’re caught up in the painful ones. I understand life isn’t all butterflies and unicorns, but it isn’t all death and destruction either. Life is never all good or all bad. Both exist, but it’s your choice which one you choose to focus on.
Marking the good times can get you through a lot of bad times. There will be plenty of bad (John 16:33), which makes celebrating the good all the more important.
2. TO CELEBRATE PROGRESS
Sometimes it doesn’t feel like you are going anywhere. You are rowing and rowing and yet the scenery isn’t changing. It can make the big goals you are working toward seem like they will never happen.
I think most of us postpone celebration waiting for the huge milestones, forgetting that the big ones are made up of lots of small ones. The big 50-year wedding anniversary is made up of 50 smaller celebrations. If you just wait till the big 5-0 to celebrate and forget the smaller ones there is a high probability you’ll never make it to the golden anniversary. Ladies, can I get an Amen?!?
What if you broke the big ones down into smaller celebrations?
-Celebrate every semester you completed toward your degree
-Celebrate a spiritual birthday
-Celebrate 10 new clients
-Celebrate 401k milestones
AA groups have found this to be a huge help for people in recovery. Many of the group members celebrate with a coin or a poker chip for 1 day, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 5 years…
When you celebrate progress you’re much more likely to stick with it. You realize that you are getting traction and gaining momentum. By celebrating the small milestones you see things are moving albeit not as fast as you’d like, but there’s still progress to celebrate.
It’s more important to celebrate progress than finish lines because there will always be another finish line and most of the important things in life don’t have a finish line anyway…except death. So celebrate the progress you’ve made!
3. TO CELEBRATE PEOPLE
The celebration isn’t about the task completed. It’s about the person who completed the task. You are celebrating who they are and who they are becoming. You are celebrating their passions and purpose in life. You’re acknowledging their hard work. You’re honoring their faithfulness…something that’s in short supply these days.
Most people will never receive a standing ovation, but they can receive your adoration. For most people that’s all that matters anyway.
So why wait until it’s too late to celebrate their life? Kind of reminds me of that old Mike & the Mechanics song.
One thing we do in my home is at every birthday celebration, everyone who is present goes around the table and says what they love about the birthday girl. It’s powerful! If we aren’t careful a whole year (or even decades) can go by without us telling someone why we love them. We intend to tell them, but we never actually tell them. People can’t see your heart, but they can feel your words. Your relationships could be immensely deeper if you just expressed why you love them. Celebrations give you a mechanism to do that.
4. TO CELEBRATE PERSPECTIVE
Celebrations cause us to pause and reflect. You take inventory on the direction of your life and what you’re investing your energies in. Is this still worth it? Does this deserve another year of my life? Have I gotten out of alignment with my values? Am I where I thought I would be last year? What can I do to change that?
The majority of people seem to only stop and reflect at funerals…with regret…for the celebrations they never got around to having. You don’t have to be one of those.
Imagine taking time to celebrate big and small things. You might just find that life has more joy than you thought.
Smart people take regular time to reflect and evaluate the path they’re on. Each mile marker gives you the opportunity to make sure your path is the one you want to be on.
So that begs a question…
Question: What’s the next thing you plan to celebrate? Share your answer on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
P.S. One of my favorite party stories has nothing to do with birthdays or anniversaries, but it clearly shows all 4 of these reasons to celebrate. You can read it in Luke 15:11-24.
