When you celebrate something do you
do it by yourself, or with others? Now, there are moral victories that we may
celebrate alone; like not eating that third piece of pie, maybe it’s shutting
off the TV and going for a walk, or resisting whatever temptation you struggle
with. Those moral victories are something we typically celebrate alone. What I’m referring
to are those “high five” moments. Stuff like job promotions, retirement,
scoring the winning point of a game, or harvesting whatever fish or game you’re
after. Those are the times when you look for someone to give a high five to. Have
you ever tried to give yourself a high five because no one else was around?
Well, it’s pretty lame. It’s more like clapping and when you’re clapping by
yourself it just seems silly. When it’s time to celebrate, having others around
to share it with can make it more enjoyable. At this point you may be saying to
yourself, “other people stress me out,” or “I like to do things on my own.”
Believe me, I completely understand those statements. I grew up with three
brothers, now married, have two sons, and deal with customers daily to solve
their problems. So I understand how other people can add stress to your life
and how it’s easier to just “do it myself,” or by yourself. However the amount
of joy those same people can bring to one’s life far outweighs the stress. So,
for now let’s focus on the celebration side of things. Since my childhood
celebrations always had other people involved; from being able to
start my first campfire, shooting my first deer, marrying my high school
sweetheart, to graduating trade school. There was always someone to celebrate
with.
There came a point in my young
adult life that I wanted to boost my deer hunting experience by archery hunting
in addition to using a firearm. My philosophy in the particular woods we hunted was
that with a firearm “if you could see it, you can hit it.” Archery hunting would be more of a challenge. So, I purchased all
the gear needed to archery hunt. I spent countless hours at the range improving
my accuracy. Scouted the woods for deer sign and located the best hunting spot.
I was going to do it alone. The morning of the first hunt arrived and off to
woods I went…by myself. It was going to be a beautiful September morning. The air
was cool and fresh. I was in the stand well before sunrise. The
sun came up, and the woods came alive. Birds were chirping and squirrels were
scampering around. Then it became very quiet. I heard a twig snap behind me,
turned around, and there were two whitetail bucks 15 yards away. I drew the bow
back, got the larger buck in my sight and let the arrow fly. The arrow found its
mark and it was all over. I let out a YAHOO! As the adrenaline rushed through
my veins I savored the moment. My first archery hunt was a success! The
adrenaline was still flowing as I arrived back to my truck. I was pumped and
there was no one to share it with. No one to high five. I tried calling my
brother who I knew would love to hear the story but, there was no answer. The adrenaline rush was gone. I missed the camaraderie of celebrating with others. Eventually
another hunter came driving down the road and pulled over to look at the deer.
He got out of his truck, walked over to me, we high fived and exchanged stories
of the morning hunt. That's just how a celebration should be…with someone else.
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Gods want us to be happy.
1
Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always.”
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 “So I concluded
there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we
can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for
these are gifts from God.”
