I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD. (Psalm 104:33-34)
The month of May is often a month of celebration. Some of us are celebrating graduation, whether it is from preschool, kindergarten, middle school, high school or college. This year Bette and I are celebrating the graduation of our daughter, Allison, from law school. We are also celebrating the fact that for the first time in 32 years, we won’t have a child in school!
I also find reason to celebrate in the month of May because I get to be out in my garden; one of the joys of my life. I love seeing the fresh new plants grow and flower. I love seeing the birds singing, flying, almost dancing with joy. I love watching young animals and children bounding with the pure joy of life, with many of those grown feeling young once again.
For many of us, May is also a time of celebrating life together as a couple. My mom and dad’s anniversary was in May, as is Bette’s and my anniversary. Each year in May I’m reminded of that young couple filled with hope years ago and the current joy of our life together.
All these signs of joy in life reflect the gift of new life we have from the Christ of Easter. In this amazing gift of life from God, we all have a reason to celebrate!
Even in our joy, for many of us this year has been difficult and it might have been hard to celebrate. It’s been well over a year since our world changed and we still don’t quite know what our new life is going to look like. This causes fear for many. At the same time, some of us are mourning the loss of loved ones. For me it was in May of last year that my father died. However, even in our uncertainty about the future, even in our mourning, we have the hope of new life. In this we can celebrate and sing to the Lord as long as we live!
Pastor Tim
