A liturgy for celebration.
Celebration!
You speak of this repeatedly. It seems to be in Your very nature, and I often forget the joy of it. I forget that You want us to live life abundantly, enduring with You through the sorrows as well as dancing with You in the joys.
My heart rejoices in these things!
Today I choose to celebrate what’s around me. I celebrate the unique beauty in the faces that I pass each day - each with their story, each with their dreams. I celebrate the honor of walking these streets, of meetings so many - all made in Your image; the fruit stands and sweet aunties selling their vegetables on the side of busy intersections; the little ones strapped in wicker baskets on their grandparents’ backs; the businessmen and women with their minds on the to-do lists of the day; the sweet older gentlemen playing cards while their wives dance with their friends in the park. What beautiful stories they could each tell.
My heart rejoices in these things!
I celebrate the honor bestowed on me in a workplace by many who outrank me in education, experience, and wisdom, yet who treat me as an equal. The smiles in the market, the welcoming comments that I sometimes brush past. I celebrate this unique opportunity to be like a child again. I get to learn from this culture, asking questions, leaning on others, and even leaning into my own weaknesses.
My heart rejoices in these things!
I take time to celebrate the hospitality that is shown to me on a regular basis, knowing that this is truly not my home. The welcoming smiles, the innocent questions, and the many gifts to bring me into their world. I have been welcomed by many, and that is a kindness I never want to overlook. I celebrate the friendships that You’ve provided, the meals together, the random conversations with strangers, the unexpected moments of depth in budding friendships, and the open welcoming spirit of so many in my host country.
My heart rejoices in these things!
I celebrate this home away from Home, reminded that - even in all of these joys - I don’t belong here. Ultimately, I celebrate how I see the fingerprints of Love. How it is sung by the most graceful of swans down to the smallest of swallows, displayed with the rise of the sun and repeated with its faithful setting. How it is shown in the diversity of experiences, personalities, and opinions. It’s in every heartbeat, every longing for something deeper. A truer purpose, and identity greater than ourselves. It calls out to the oppressed, the weary, and the abandoned. Ultimately, may I never forget to celebrate how this borrowed home is just a small taste of my
true Home.
My heart rejoices in these things!
Amen.
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