This week we finished our almost-3-year process to get our permanent residency visas here in CR… which must be renewed in a year and a half. Yes, that’s right. You thought you knew the meaning of the word “permanent” but you didn’t. It really means permanently standing in lines to pay more money. However, we did it! I can’t believe that it’s finally over. I think that has been a prayer request on nearly every newsletter that we have sent out in the last few years. Now we can celebrate.
We did a combination Mothers’ Day (in America) and Visa celebration last Sunday. After church we went to the next city over and enjoyed a very rare treat: Outback Steakhouse. We have a few American restaurants here, but they are so freaking expensive that they are for “Birthdays only” in our household. It had been over a year since we had gone to Outback, so we were giddy with anticipation.
I particularly like the Blooming Onion (don’t tell me that it has a million calories. I already know and I don’t care.). When we lived in Mexico we went to visit friends in the center of the country. They had an Outback there too. I was looking forward to the Blooming Onion for weeks before our visit. My mouth watered as I ordered it. Twenty minutes later the server came back out and said, “Sorry, we don’t have any onions right now.” I just about beat him up.
My point is, it is good and right to stop and celebrate when you accomplish something huge like this. Celebrating is practically ordered by God in the Old Testament. Have you read how many feasts and holidays the Jews had in the Law? I don’t know how they got any work done. God wants us to celebrate our victories and to remember them with anniversaries and festivals year after year. Celebration is good for the soul. It reminds us that God is good and life is not always bad. It keeps us from feeling like a victim all the time. And it helps pull us away from our future goals and plans long enough to focus on the past successes and present joys. God orders us to celebrate!
We have so much to celebrate in our lives. This weekend, take some time and make a list of all the things that you can celebrate. Think of successes. Think of victories. Think of hard things that you survived. Think of benchmarks and landmarks and goal posts and mile stones that you have achieved. Take time to celebrate your Wins with Thankfulness to God. It’s good for your soul.
Photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/anotherpintplease/3258810983/”>Another Pint Please…</a> / <a href=”http://foter.com”>Foter.com</a> / <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>CC BY-NC-SA</a>
Monkeys in My Bag 