traditions book quote 7

From Treasuring God in Our Traditions, by Noel Piper...

Our "especially" celebrations anchor us and our children in the harbor of our family, reflecting our true refuge - God.  The way we observe these occasions - the focus of our observation - has great potential to show our children what we think is most important and to help them value what we hold most dear.  Of course, the benefits are not just for the children.  Our celebrations work good in our own lives and in other people whose lives touch ours, by rekindling our love of God, by increasing our knowledge of him, and by helping us remember who God is and how he works.

Memory is the mother of traditions.  Almost all of our special days are celebrated because they remind us of something significant in the past.  A birthday looks back to a birth.  An anniversary looks back to a wedding.  A funeral looks back on a life.  Christmas looks back on Jesus' birth.  Easter looks back to his death and resurrection.  Our celebrations are occasions to look back and remember what God has done in the world and in our lives.

At the same time, we are also looking forward.  The preparations we make and the eagerness we feel as we look ahead toward a special day are a foretaste of the emotions we will experience when we encounter God in a special way as we celebrate.  And that encounter with God is, in turn, a foreshadowing of the great day when we will see him face to face (p. 64).