Carla and her girls are tight. They do a lot of things together, and one of those things is laughing. Carla shared the following story with our Bible study a couple of years ago, and the joy of it has stuck with me all this time…
“I have two girls in college. We send each other reels (mini videos) on Instagram for laughs. We send clips of comedians, kids being funny, old people being funny, little white poodle dogs dressed up like snowmen, memes, etc. We will pretty much send anything that gets a laugh.”
“Recently, I sent them a reel that went something like this. A mom and her eight-year-old kid are in the car, and the kid says, ‘Do you want me to throw the confetti in my pocket?’ The mom says, ‘NO, not in the car!... Why do you have confetti in your pocket?’ The kid responds, ‘It’s my emergency confetti, I carry it everywhere in case there’s good news.’ So, I sent this to my girls, and I captioned it ‘Me as a kid.’ My oldest replied back, ‘Mom, this is you right now.’”
“While I do not carry confetti in my pocket, I am ALWAYS ready to celebrate. Big, small, doesn’t matter. I love to celebrate. I’ll celebrate anyone for any reason.”
“Did you get an A on a paper? Let’s celebrate. No cavities? Let’s celebrate. National Lemonade Day? Let’s celebrate. That’s actually a real thing, and I have celebrated it…complete with lemonade, lemon chicken, and lemon bars.”
“There are lots of monumental occasions to celebrate. We celebrate weddings and graduations. We celebrate new jobs and promotions. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.”
“But what do you think is my favorite thing to celebrate? It’s what God is accomplishing in the lives of those around me.”
You know how rascally little boys always seem to be looking for trouble? Carla is always looking for a reason to celebrate! And the Lord never disappoints. Even in a particularly challenging season that she and her family have recently walked through, Carla and her husband determined early on to make a list of God’s blessings “to make sure that (their) eyes were focused on the Lord and not on (their) circumstances.”
Carla’s not one to sugarcoat or disregard true hardship or suffering, but she’ll be the first to tell you that God keeps His promises – always. And that’s worth celebrating!
Cue the confetti!
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Creator God, You made me with a heart that thrives on rejoicing in You. Everywhere I look, I find reasons to praise You! Everywhere I go, I find reasons to celebrate Your goodness! Every day, You give me cause to be glad! Yes, Lord, I’ve had trials in my life, but I know that there’s an appropriate time for all things – a time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to mourn, a time to dance. Thank You that this path of life on which You lead me allows me to experience fullness of joy. I’m so grateful for every celebration here and now – only practice for the great Day when I’ll bid farewell to every earthly pain and sorrow and embark on an eternity of praise and worship in Your glorious presence! I celebrate Your goodness in the beautiful Name of Jesus. Amen. (Philippians 4:4, Psalm 150:1-6, Psalm 118:24, Psalm 16:11, Ecclesiastes 3:4, Revelation 19)
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Thank you for joining in this week’s Scripture memory challenge as we commit to our hearts and minds Psalm 100. This week’s passage is Psalm 100:1-2.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing!” - Psalm 100:1-2 (ESV)
