I love preparing for and having celebrations. I like to see people enjoy themselves and each other without having to do a lot of work. Today I participated in my first volunteer opportunity at the church. I helped with a funeral luncheon. Now, you may not think of this as a celebration, but in fact it is. People come together who may not have seen each other for quite some time. In this case, the woman who passed away was 94 years old. Her and her husband had recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary a few months before. Her 96 year old husband was there just as spry as could be. The group chatted, shared memories, laughed and visited. It was nice to see them enjoying the food and the company. I had the pleasure of working with 5 ladies I just met who had a heart for serving. 3 of us were new, and we had a lot to learn – preparing, serving, and cleaning. To wrap things up, I ended up washing the dishes, including the pans from the lasagna dishes that other people donated for the meal. Tonight, my family got together to celebrate my brother’s and brother-in-law’s birthdays. My sister made lasagna and a salad freshly picked from her garden, so I did not have cook dinner. My brother-in-law’s favorite dessert is rice crispy treats. He turned 50, so I made a giant 50 out of rice crispy treats. My brother’s favorite dessert is ice cream, so I bought assorted flavors that we passed around. We had a great celebration and no one had to do a lot of work. And to wrap things up, I ended up washing the dishes, including the lasagna pan. I thought that was pretty funny.

I Found God today in being able to help people celebrate and seeing them enjoy themselves and one another.