Don't Wait to Celebrate

What a week it has been: great weather, manageable work, and Father’s Day. Since my dad has now passed, I’ll give my marks to my husband for being the best father I know!

This week I walked 64,403 steps, which gives me a 197,417 step total, with 562,583 steps to go. I’m already looking toward next year and thinking of shooting for a million steps between Memorial Day and Labor Day! I hope you’re keeping up with me.

My walks this week took me to the beaches in Grand Haven. When I walk in that area, I don’t typically start on the beach but near our town’s hospital. This way, I get a few nice, big hills in before I get to the sand. PLUS I have a place to park, a very difficult thing to attain in Grand Haven this time of year. It’s so congested on the weekends that our local Harbor Transit invites people to park in its lot so that the bus can transport them to the beach. Even with this added choice, every spot was taken downtown with parked cars mushrooming out toward mine.

The last time I walked this path, I was over 30 pounds heavier. That loss, combined with the priority I’ve put on walking every day, helped me to take these hills so much easier than I was able to take them before. I don’t know if the photos do the hills justice, but we’re talking between 15° and 30° inclines here.

The thought that hit me at the base of each hill was, “Wow, look what’s in front of me…I’ll be glad when I reach the top.” Do you ever talk to yourself like that, in any area of your life? Do you ever think about the barriers you have to overcome and think, “I’ll be glad when that’s behind me”? This thought can be a comfort, but it also kind of keeps us from relishing in the journey, from living now, from celebrating in the moment.

What are we waiting for? Rather than saying, “I’ll be glad when the house is paid off,” rejoice now that you have a place to lay your head. Rather than saying, “I wish I could walk further or faster or leaner,” rejoice now that the Lord has blessed you with strong legs, a solid heartbeat, and a powerful set of lungs. Don’t always look to what you have to accomplish, rejoice now in what accomplishments you have already gained. There is no better time to celebrate God’s goodness in your life than now.

I remember reading a devotional by Chuck Swindoll years ago that seems so appropriate to share here. Chuck set the stage of a man in his bedroom, pulling a box out of a drawer. In the box was a beautiful camisole and panties set…all lacy and silky and glittery and lavish. The man remembered when he gave it to his wife and how she had gasped with delight over the gift’s delicacy. She had said she would put it away for a special occasion. The man reasoned there could be no better time for her to wear it. He packed the contents of the box with the dress he would take to the funeral home for his wife's burial.

Don’t let this happen to you. Don't put off until another day. Banish the phrase, "I'll be be glad when..." from your vocabulary. Don’t wait to celebrate.

Enjoy your day. Enjoy this blog.