A Triple Celebration
First things first---it is Mothers’ Day, an occasion for celebration. Our family likes to celebrate. We have grown large and scattered. The tug of a celebration helps us make the extra effort to be together.
There were four mothers present for our celebration today. Regrettably, three other mothers could not make it. The ages of those present ranged from thirty to more than eighty. We have a plaque hanging in our home that says, “Some folk call it chaos; we call it family.” True to those words, our “chaos” was so boisterous the dog hid under the table.
Now about the second celebration, we have a great granddaughter who celebrated her first birthday with us. Her name is Gracelynn, and her birthday was May 10. Poor child, for the rest of her life she will share her birthday with Mothers’ Day. Times have changed. I never received as many gifts or as much attention on any of my birthdays. I was not a first child. I rejoiced with every gift she opened.
Now the third part of the celebration---in our morning worship I watched how older couples expressed their love and affection for each other. Several were pushing their spouse in wheelchairs. Some were helping their mate walk. Others simply helped each other find a seat. It was obvious they had worshipped together before and anticipated sharing this special time. They have celebrated years together---fifty, sixty, and seventy-plus. Still, they rejoice in their joint presence. Beautiful!
Society often pities the elderly, even patronizing them; but my experience tells me older people know more about joy than the young can ever imagine.
As we noisily celebrated Gracelynn’s birthday, I silently prayed that one day years from now she and a loving spouse will share a similar joy. May God cause it to be so.
