"We Ain't Wastin' Nothing!"

Yesterday morning, our church family faced a difficult day when one of our staff members lost their beautiful baby girl after a healthy, full-term pregnancy. It is heart-breaking and gut-wrenching. Please pray for them.

As I was talking to Tommy, our Student Minister, about it yesterday, he said he felt funny preparing for the Element Student Ministries Christmas party. "It feels weird teaching on celebration with all that's going on," he said.

I told him to have fun and celebrate the moment.

It reminded me of another time about 20 years ago when we served a church in the Atlanta area. A pastor friend of mine suffered a similar loss in their immediate family. When he came home later that day his wife was obviously upset about the loss of the baby. He looked in the dining room and the table was set with the fine china that usually collected dust in the china cabinet. There were candles on the table and the entire meal was elegantly spread and waiting on the family to gather around.

"What's going on?" my friend asked. His wife replied, "After today, I've decided that we are going to celebrate every day. Every day is worth celebrating. We let the china waste away in the cabinet waiting for a special occasion. Well, this is special. From now on, we ain't wastin' nothing! We are going to live fully and rejoice. This is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad."

She preached a great and memorable sermon to her family that night. And one that I remembered too.

Celebrate every day. Don't let petty things get in the way of your relationships. Don't let busyness keep you from rejoicing. Don't let a day slip away without realizing how special life is and letting those around you know how special they are to you.