It is easy to think all is well while celebrating. People are smiling, laughter is flowing, and everything is wrapped in hope. Whatever the reason, it feels as if the next one will easily be just around the corner.
My perspective of celebration has changed with time and the lessons with it. A picture of my grandson in a tree reminds me of the celebrations of kids growing up and the milestones each achieved along the way. A reflection in the mirror takes me back to the way my mother and father celebrated my milestones. The life lesson which emerged from the two streams is consistent with how I look at what is important today.
When I am up and when I am down, who do I reach out to? Who do I want to be there in the best and worst of times? In a psalm of recurring reminders, memories come flooding back as I consider one towards the end. “God remembered us when we were down, His love never quits.” (Psalm 136.23). The lesson for me which comes with the reminders is direct and to the point.
Looking back is helpful if it reminds one of the facts that I so easily let slip. It is almost too easy to forget family who were there when you stepped out on the biggest stage as well as when one found themselves lying flat on the floor. Remembering the bright lights as well as the quiet darkness which takes you away is helpful in grounding me into the moment I have now.
The lingering outcomes which bias the present can be seen as a second set of reminders to what has already been realized. As painful as any one of them might be, they do not control what happens now. Each may point to the past, but the future has yet to be written.
In this moment, in the beginning of a day or the moment this finds you, the question is always the same – what will I do now? The next celebration is with us.
