LENT:day 9: Jesus says YES to celebration

John 2:1-2 Three days later, they all went to celebrate a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Mary, the mother of Jesus was invited together with Him and his disciples.

“Wedding and Reception – Saturday May 9, Charleston, SC. Garden attire: wear sundresses, floral prints, suits in lighter hues, and FUN HATS and fascinators.” … FUN HATS and fascinators. happy sigh.

I’m over the moon excited to attend my nieces wedding in just 2 short months. The location is fabulous and the invitation which includes the words ” wear FUN HATS….” is just the best. The fact that I already own a hat, from Charleston, makes me even more excited. I’ll be traveling with one of my amazing sister in laws, staying in an air bnb on a darling little island off the coast of Charleston where I have vacationed many times with my family, and celebrating the love of 2 amazing people. A rare weekend getaway. A Celebration… to be sure.

and to this Jesus says, ” YES!”

One of the first stories of Jesus ministry life is the account of him attending a wedding celebration with his family and friends. The focus of this story is often, usually, the miracle, his first, that he performs. Today I want to look from a different angle… the one that takes in the simple fact that…

He was there.

He.

Was.

There. at the wedding. with his family. with his friends.

A wedding so big that they ran out of wine. “Jesus and his disciples were all invited to the banquet but with so many guests they ran out of wine.” a big ol’ party. A party so good they didn’t want it to end. A celebration. A pause in life and ministry to gather for fun. We would all do well to follow suit.

Now I can’t jet off to islands for parties on a regular basis. My work, family and budget wont allow for that. But I can look at adding celebratory moments into my life. I can look people in the eye and wish them a great day! I can surprise my husband by buying his favorite coffee creamer or making his favorite stuffed pizza. I can decide to not take myself so seriously in things that seem to matter so much today but 100 years from now– who will care? While making dinner I can turn off the news and turn on some good dance music. I can take moments to linger with friends over coffee or a glass of wine. I believe little moments of celebration bring Jesus joy and shows the world around us that in the midst of crazy sickness, crazy politics, crazy weather…. celebration can have and should have its place.

How will you bring celebration into your life? into your day? How will you pay attention to places you can insert joy and possibly change the trajectory of someones day? I’d love to hear your stories – let your celebration begin!

Loving you where you are and pointing you forward to where He is,

justbeth:)