We’re closing in on the end of October and all that brings! Halloween, All Saints Day, my birthday!
Seriously, I’m thinking about what it means to come toward the end of the year and all that we will yet experience. Do we prepare ourselves for what is coming, or do we just simply let it come and take it in at the moment? It seems to me a little preparation before something happens goes a long way to how we experience the moment.
Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is such a fun time for so many in our culture. We have the opportunity to dress up in all sorts of costumes, we prepare for festivities, parties, trick or treaters. Its all so much fun. But it can’t happen without prior preparation. You have to plan the party, the costume, the decorations. There is much forethought that has to take place. You imagine in your mind what the costume will look like, how you will sport it, what the reactions will be. For your party you figure out a guest list, what food and drink will you serve, what creative way will you decorate the space. Even though All Hallows Eve is the night before All Saints Day, it is not quite as holy and sacred, but rather a more boisterous time filled with fun and even a little spookiness.
All Saints Day, when observed, is a day that should take some forethought also. Who will you remember who has transitioned from this place to eternity. How did they impact your life? What memories of them remain? How will you memorialize them? Do we gather friends together and swap stories of our saint who is no longer with us? Are we able to remember how they made us feel when they were with us? In the Jewish culture, it is believed persons who have died are not truly gone as long as they are remembered. They live on in us and in our consciousness. Mothers, fathers, relatives, companions, good friends, they all live on in us. Planning a time of remembrance is a sacred thing which connects us with our dear departed. So it can’t just happen, it must be planned for and prepared.
My birthday seems to be coming around quicker and quicker as the years go by. Its upon me almost before I know it. I try to prepare myself for the day. I know someone will ask me if I feel a year older. I know I will have moments on my day where I think back over years past and all that I have come through. I know I will want to celebrate the day by giving thanks to God for letting me see another year. I remind myself of those who were not as fortunate to reach the age I’m attaining. I also take stock of what I’ve done over time to contribute, to be a part, to share. I know birthdays can sometimes seem melancholy to some, not wanting to think of the age they’ve become, and certainly not wanting to think in terms of the years they may have left. But every moment, every day, every year we are given is a gift from God and should be treated as such.
As you and I enter the latter part of this year, let’s prepare ourselves for all that we are going to experience. Let’s give those times some real thought, so they don’t just creep up on us. Let’s gather together those persons we want to celebrate with. Let’s find ways to remember those who are no longer with us. Let’s give real thought to how we look at all God has blessed us with up to this point. The people whose lives and love we have been blessed to share. The opportunities to make a difference for others that have crossed our way. The blessings of attaining another year of age, and the blessing of being able to plan how we will spend that year ahead of us.
Celebrations are ways we mark the times of our lives, but they are also a way for us to prepare our mind and soul for what God has in store for us. Somehow, I think the days ahead are going to be some of the best we will ever have. Our preparations, our celebrations, our reflections, will give us those days of joy which God is sending our way.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom