Time to Celebrate Life

“The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.” (John 2:1, 2 NLT))

Even though Jesus was here on a mission, He participated in life. He celebrated life. As noted in the scripture above, Jesus celebrated life events with family and friends. Knowing this makes me happy. I love celebrating life events. But I have often found making time to celebrate a challenge. As a recovering workaholic, there was always more work I could find to do. I have lost many “use or lose” vacation days over the years. But Jesus’ example has encouraged me to shift my thinking about downtime and celebrating life.

I think I am making good progress. So far, our family’s summer has been filled with celebrations. In May, we celebrated Vanessa’s graduation from college. We spent five days in Ithaca, New York participating in the Cornell graduation events that Vanessa and her roommates had planned. In early July, we hosted a Baby Shower for my daughter-in-law Daniella with a group of friends and family. Daniella has some very creative friends, so the event was beautiful. They took the time to carefully create the menu, decorations, and the guest list. Our friends and family took the time to select their gifts and write their cards. Now, we are waiting for Noah to arrive! And once he arrives, I am sure we will have another party!

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In mid-July, two of my college roommates and I met in Atlanta for a well-orchestrated surprise 50th birthday celebration for our fourth roommate, Christine. Christine was so shocked to see us that I thought she was going to faint. It had been twenty-two years since the four of us had been together in the same room at the same time. We made the most of our time! One of the places we visited on our tour around Atlanta was Barrington Hall in Roswell, Georgia. I loved the gardens and the house tour. Here are some photographs made at Barrington Hall:

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Now, I am in Key West with Vanessa and a few of her friends for the weekend. We are celebrating the beginning of a new chapter in Vanessa’s life: medical school! I am learning to take the time to celebrate. Celebrating life events makes life memorable. Is there someone or something you need to celebrate?

“…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 NASB)

(I made the photos above at Daniella’s Baby Shower, at Barrington Hall in Roswell, Georgia, and in Key West, Florida in July 2013)

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About Linda Freeman

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Linda Pulley Freeman combines her specialized training in environmental and chemical engineering with her deep ministerial commitment as she serves mission fields at home and abroad.

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