Mourning Day
Have you ever noticed that we celebrate the new year, but we never really mourn the end of the old one? Maybe it's our optimistic nature. We look forward to a new year, a fresh start, another chance. We make resolutions and goals. We anticipate the great things that are bound to happen in the coming year.
I think we'd do well to close the year with a day of mourning. Make it December 31st; that way it'll really give us something to look forward to on January 1st. It would be a day where everyone takes time to consider the passing of time. Most of us do it anyway, but we reflect alone and try to cheer ourselves up with a kiss as the ball drops and watching bowl games.
Every year is full of things that dramatically affect our lives. We meet new friends, argue with family, learn new skills, waste money. Why not take a day to remember loved ones who died, new ones who were born, and all of the books we read? (If we really want to mourn, we should think of the hours of our lives we wasted watching "Prison Break.")
For believers, a remembrance is a part of life. The day we forget where we were when we met Jesus, and where we were headed without Him, is the day we lose our understanding of the power of grace. Repentance and confession require remembering the sin in our lives. Our memory of the wrongs we've committed and the consequences of our actions are what keep us from making the same errors over and over. We do it before we take communion, why not take a day for corporate reflection?
I'm not saying we should dwell on the past, but I do think we ought to remember it. What better way than to make it a holiday? We could have parades with bands playing the year's music, and floats that depict the year's events. Everyone could dress in black, and we could give apology cards to people we wronged. We could start a tradition of only eating leftovers and deleting all of the year's email. Who knows? We might even get another day off work. Of course, we would need a catchier name than "Mourning Day." That would never work.
4 comments:
i've got to say... i miss you my friend. sure would love to have a "river" with you.
strib
people forget about the year gone by, even before it actually ends.
very sweet one
So, we need a better title than Mourning Day. Your right. It ain't gonna sell. Can't be Rememberance day- I think that is something else already. Let's see a day we all take stock of the year gone by.... self pity day? No, you couldn't distinguish that from all the other days. A day where look back and assess... A day where we take stock of... A day where we judge. That's it! The the Day Of Judgement! That's what it could be. Lifeway could sell little white thrones that we put in our houses and we could really evaluate our lives.
Hey, Just having a bit of fun before lunch. Keep up the good posts.
Stepchild,
You have a way of saying things that make me wonder why I haven't thought of that before. Then I begin to wonder why don't I go ahead and do what he says whether anyone else does or not. I've had both thoughts...again.
As I told Guy Muse, don't take my writing seldom as an indication of not remembering to pray for you. That is not the case at all. You ARE prayed for with some regularity.
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