I love celebrating events. I’ve blogged several in previous entries. It’s that time for another. David, my baby, and Samantha celebrate their fifteenth anniversary tomorrow. I won’t be there tomorrow, but they will be coming by here to begin the big celebration next Tuesday. Sherry and I will get to keep Nicole and Joy while David and Sam go do their very special thing. In collaboration with David, we get facilitate some very nice stuff for them. It’s all a surprise for Samantha and some of it is a surprise for David. It was great fun for me to negotiate with some folk to make some provisions for them that will make their special time even more special.

I find that doing this sort of thing turns my gears more than almost anything I can think of. That I get to work with them to celebrate goodness is so fun. To get to enhance that for them in a surprise way is even funner. And I’ll get to hang with my grandgirls too.

My mind tends to go to intense and hard, so my outlook can get pretty serious and sadness can take over. Collaborating a celebration like this one is the other side. It’s where joy flows full and free. The intensity gives power to joy. But there are celebrations I can’t join, say a long time friend’s birthday that circumstances keep me from, or anniversaries of special people that I am far away from. These are mixed memories. I celebrate the event, but with a deep sadness that the separation brings.

Perhaps the epitome of this mixture is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I want so much to be there. The regular practices we call the Lord’s Supper enhance the anticipation. The sadness of living in a broken world with broken relationships make that longing keen.

Next week I’ll have part in Bruce and Cody’s wedding. I’ve done their pre-marital and will be one of five ministers in the service. Their theme is "As in heaven so also on earth." It will be a beautiful celebration. I hope to be around when they do their fifteenth!