Reasons to Celebrate

We've been celebrating a lot in our family lately. A 30th anniversary would be enough I suppose. But that was only the beginning. The same day, our big, lovable and terminally goofy Newfoundland puppy, Charter, turned three. (Yes, we celebrate dog birthdays. Always have; always will.) Two days later, May 27, our younger daughter Erin Kendall hit the quarter-century mark. Talk about a time warp; how else could that be possible? Finally,on Saturday the 28th, we marked the completion of rebuilding our home, destroyed 19 months ago in the biggest, baddest, fastest wildfire in California's known history. We thought all of these converging occasions called for a party. A big party. One hundred fifteen people in all. Not to mention four canines.

We started off with a dedication ceremony led by our good friends and former co-pastors Steve and Cinda Gorman, who came all the way from Cincinnati to celebrate with us and give eloquent voice to our gratitude for life and renewal, our grief for the 17 people killed by the fire, and our recognition that this new house, so much more house than I ever thought we would have, is a gift from God dedicated to his purposes. It was a lot of emotional ground to cover in 15 minutes, and it prompted more than a few tears. But it was all good. In fact, it was all very good. And that includes my friend Colleen DeLory's Irish chocolate walnut cream cake, the best stop in the buffet line. Sometimes life is just that sweet.