A Shard from Thailand/Myanmar

What’s with all the celebrations?

That was something that I really didn’t expect on this trip. “Refugee missions trip” doesn’t exactly make your mind go straight to celebration, and yet that was a constant theme among the Burmese people while we were here! All kinds of celebrations!

Just in the two weeks that we have been here, we celebrated a birthday and a wedding anniversary. Our translators went out and bought cake and balloons and decorated the table and sang and laughed and cut cake!

When we were in the refugee camp there was also a big celebration for the fiftieth anniversary of the camp. Something that doesn’t seem like it’s worth celebrating, because no one wanted to be there for that long; it was supposed to be a short refuge until it was safe to return home and yet, fifty years later there is still unrest and pain in Myanmar and thousands of refugees cross the border daily. But in that moment, a celebration was taking place.

They even celebrated the end of each clinic with singing and fruit and prayers and sooooooo many group photos!!

And on top of all of that celebrating, we are also going to celebrate all of our teammates tomorrow before we leave.

So, what’s with all the celebrations? What’s the big deal?

In America, we really only have a few holidays and celebrations, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, 4th of July, things like that. And I know that I can sometimes feel inconvenienced by the holiday season or celebrations. There never seems to be enough time! And it disrupts the things I need to do!

And yet, celebrations seem to be very important to God. There is a time for everything. The seven feasts that God set into place come to mind. God did so many things on specific feasts, even though He is outside of time. Why did He do that? It must have been important.

And suddenly the picture becomes a bit clearer! The focus on setting apart time to celebrate things here in both Thailand and Myanmar is a fragment of God’s original design that shines extra bright in these people!

When we take the time to actually slow down, remember, and then celebrate important moments in our lives and in our people’s lives, we have an opportunity to reflect on the blessings God has given us and turn our praise towards Him!

Birthdays celebrate the life we have been given, or the children God has blessed us with.

Marriage anniversaries celebrate the love and union of a spouse and the reflection of God in that union.

The fifty year anniversary of a refugee camp being founded celebrates the safety and protection they have craved and the hope they can now have for their futures and the futures of their children because of that safety.

The celebrations at the end of each clinic day remind us of the lives we have been able to touch in the name of Christ and help us point the glory back to the Father through worship.

And the celebrating of our teammates helps us see and remember the unique reflection of God in each and every one of the people we are serving with.

Seeing this glimpse of God and how He designed us all to work makes these celebrations even more special to me. I hope I can continue to no longer look at them with frustration of all the time being wasted and all the stress of planning, but instead can look towards them with joy and anticipation like my brothers and sisters in Christ here do. I want to make sure that I don’t miss what God is doing in these times: remembering what He has done for us, celebrating the beautiful things in life, and sharing with others exactly why we celebrate.

And maybe, if we take the time to slow down and notice God in the celebration, we can see His image clearer in the people we are celebrating with.