Candy Dinner

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

“Okay, who’s ready to dig in?” I could not help but grin as I took in the eager faces of the crew gathered around the kitchen island. Based on a long-running inside joke, I call them my Wild Poodles: Kendra’s youngest three and my two kiddos. They have known one another since birth and are as much family as friends.

Kendra and I had challenged our kids to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). We had promised a dinner made solely of sugar if they met age-appropriate writing goals.

They had, and now several months later, we were making good on our promise. I’d even picked up a box of Twinkies after realizing the Wild Poodles had never tried the legendary treat with a shelf life of—apparently—forever. We (parents included) raised a candy toast to their hard work and dedication, cheering for the surprisingly complex and creative works resulting from their month of work. It was a delightful evening filled with laughter, silly photos, and great memories.

I haven’t always paused to celebrate accomplishments, being so often too consumed with striving and too future-focused to remember the fleeting nature and importance of being present today. I was long into adulthood (and parenthood) before I began to truly comprehend the brevity of our days, years, and entire life, and the importance of living intentionally in the present rather than always living with a future focus. There is a place for both, to be sure, but I tend to swing too much toward the future and too little toward moment-by-moment living.

Candy Dinner was a lovely reminder to pause in joyful celebration over life’s milestones. Small victories are worthy of an intentional pause and grateful reflection over our progress before setting new goals and marching onward. There is something so encouraging in recognizing our forward movement along the journey instead of always waiting until we’ve reached a far-off finish line. Life is too short not to celebrate every chance we get, being grateful for smaller accomplishments along the way, even as we’ve set our sights on audacious goals.

Julie

Today’s Act of Gratitude

What small victory can you celebrate this week even as you pursue a bigger goal? Pause to prayerfully acknowledge your forward movement, even as you make plans for the next steps in your goal.