Every Day's a Holiday

by Jerrica Becker

Last time I preached at chapel, we talked about the discipline of celebration. I'm sure many of you have sat in a pew on Sunday morning, heard the “Joys and Concerns “and noticed that there are usually more concerns. We rarely share the small joys. We express the miracles and healing, but sometimes we forget to recognize all the little things that make our days worth living.

Yesterday, I chatted with a resident who was having trouble finding something to celebrate. With a deceased father and an absent mother, she was feeling lost and struggling to find joy in her life. As a lucky girl with two healthy parents, I couldn't do much comforting, so I tried another technique. I asked what her goals were and what she wanted to do someday. Her only desire is to be reunited with her family. We tried to think of some little things that made her happy, things she could look forward to. They're not miracles, but seeing that cute boy at school or chatting with Miss Jerrica helped her crack the smile that had disappeared for a while. We celebrate the big things, but it's the little things that make each day worth living.

At the end of our service last Thursday, we sang the classic This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” Sometimes, we miss the little things, the bird chirping outside the window, the ray of sunlight shining through the clouds or that stranger who smiles “just because.” What we should never fail to miss is that every day is a day that was created and bestowed on us by God. That is a reason to rejoice, to celebrate.

Blair Holliday, a member of the Duke University football team, suffered a serious head injury this summer in a wakeboarding accident that ended his football career. He has shared how thankful he is to be alive and standing on the sidelines, despite the amount of physical therapy in his future. To support his family, students have been buying tank tops that say, “Every Day is a Holliday,”and raising funds for his medical bills. Some may not realize is the message that this shirt sends.

The word holiday comes from holy day. There is so much truth to those shirts, despite the frat-star neon lettering. Every day is holy – a day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in that holy day – or holiday, if you prefer.

Jerrica Becker is a US-2 missionary assigned as assistant chaplain for the Murphy-Harpst Children’s Centers, Inc. in Cedartown, Georgia. To read more of her reflections please see her blog: http://lifeofageorgiapeach.blogspot.com/