"Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:4(NIV)
So the backyard
barbeque didn’t stay there. We got going later than anticipated, and ended up congregating
around the dining room table, mosquitoes NOT invited. I’d asked friends and
neighbors to come share with us, and that is what we did. There was laughter,
paper plates, brightly colored napkins and lots of smiles. It was spontaneous.
It was fellowship, it was (to quote my son) “epic.”
I looked around the
table and acknowledged the depth of our blessings. He was blessed with a
beautiful day, but we are blessed with a village who loves us and encourages
us, prays with us, laughs with (and at) us, and makes me proud. It wasn’t just
my nuclear family assembled around the table loving my no-longer-a-baby boy, it
was a community.
Yesterday I saw a
little bit more of my baby leave, and a little more of the man he will become
arrive. He seems taller than the day
before, voice just a tone deeper. He is more sober, more serious, still my
love.
Yesterday was our son’s
birthday…quite a day. We fellowshipped with friends, laughed with family near
and far, ushered in some new while bidding farewell to what is passed. I am not
sad for what is gone. Every age is the
best age, and as always the best is yet to come. It was another end to end good
day, and for that I will rejoice. Rejoicing. Another reminder that God is good.