CELEBRATING THE DAYS
Does it ever strike you as odd that we have so many “special days” these days? A quick Internet search tells me that we are supposed to kick off the year with Houseplant Appreciation Day on January 10th, followed by Squirrel Appreciation Day on January 21st and then Cherry Pie Day on February 20th. We get to enjoy some intellectual fun on April 13th with National Scrabble Day followed up by the all-important National Hug a Plumber Day on April 25th. These celebrations seem a bit wacky, but I know we can all get behind May 15th as National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and looking ahead into the summer, even National Chocolate Milk Day near the end of July.
Where do all these days come from? Why do they seem so important to some? Maybe it is because we can easily forget how special every single day is; for many, each day seems to blur into the next in a never-ending cycle. But God sees things differently, and it is always best when we seek His wisdom for our lives. Every day of our lives is infinitely special, because God made each of us with a specific plan in mind.
For it was You who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. Psalms 139:13-16 (CSB)
This is true for every person who has ever lived and ever will live, but it is all the truer for those who are followers of Jesus.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (CSB)
Dear friends, let us take heart in these truths from God – we are wondrously made and in Christ made for a good purpose! If we still have a pulse in our veins, then God still has a purpose for our lives! We need to remember these things, especially when the days seem long and meaningless and we need to encourage each other, as brothers and sisters in Christ. As the writer of Hebrews puts it:
And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25 (CSB)
If we celebrate Left Handers Day on August 13th or World Pasta Day on October 25th and it makes some people happy, no problem! But let us take each day as a precious gift, given to us in the infinite love, mercy, and grace of God to us.
Note: All these wacky special days and many more are listed at https://abc7ny.com/holiday-strange-festivus-pi-day/80782/
Jamie McElrath
Senior Pastor
