"Life's Celebrations"

    Family vacations, or "vacays" (in today's slang), and, family reunions, are sort of a "sample" of what Heaven is like, minus anything sinful, in my thinking.  After all, the family is together - in one place,  happy (more often than not), celebratory, being kind and loving to one another (mostly - hopefully), etc.  Typically, I often have an overwhelming, sentimental feeling, of happiness, contentment, joy, etc., whenever I'm on a family vacation, at a family reunion, and, other similar celebrations with "loved ones!"  Many times, while at these family "get togethers," I find myself thinking about how very blessed we are, and then, compulsorily praying, willful, silent, prayers of, thankfulness and gratefulness, to my glorious Father - for the magnificent gift of my, family (the good, the bad, etc.), loved ones, and friends!  Family is supposed to be a wonderful entity - to be celebrated, and, a family, vacation and reunion, are both - awesome ways - to do so!  Personally, I pray quite a bit - a week or so before going on vacation, because, I desire to be a blessing to everyone the entire trip, and, I KNOW that, I need God's help, to keep me, 'Spirit-filled,' and, "walking in the spirit," etc.!  And, I begin praying more intensely than usual, about everything concerning attending a family reunion, a couple days prior to going, with my main prayer being, that I represent my 'Lord Jesus' in a way in which HE is pleased.  My 'Hill' family hasn't had a reunion for several years, and, I really miss going to them!  I have an abundance of sweet memories of our annual, Hill, family, reunions, out at 'Roosevelt Lake.'  I even remember some of the ones, way back in time, whenever the picnic tables were setting out on the little peninsula-like area, that looks much smaller to me, now, as does that lake!  Whenever I was young, every bit of it looked GIGANTIC!  Both of these family celebrations (reunions and vacations), remind me of what Heaven shall be like, in that, they both involve;  love, family and friends, water (Heaven's 'River of Life'), water activities, food (banquet table), laughter, fun, music, conversation, fellowship, etc.!  God created;  marriage, the family, 'The Church,' etc., all of which, deserve respect, honor, enjoyment, celebration, and the such!  Other "heavenly" ways that I think are good to celebrate life with family - here on earth, are; going to Church functions together, reunions, vacations, and, holiday and birthday, parties, etc., whenever possible!  The point is - it "should be" "a good thing" to be together in a specified place, spending quality time together (sometimes quantity is not possible), and, enjoying the family with whom God has put in one's life!  In this, social media crazed, fast paced, fast food, moving away from "home" (for jobs, and/or, whatever the reason), society, it takes a, purposeful effort, to have these "festivities of sharing," however, the effort is very much worth the "harvest!"  In my humble opinion, our descendants need to, see and experience, many of the "old fashioned," activities, manners, behaviors, etc., that our modern society has "left in the dust," such as:  face to face talking with each other (not merely communicating through technological devices), physical - group oriented - fun activities (like - Volleyball, Softball, gunnysack races, etc.), praying together - before our meals (and other times), sharing and reminiscing about the past generations, "days gone by," and the such!  Some kids never get to participate in this type of socializing, and, this breaks my heart, because, some of my favorite memories consist of good times about which I'm writing.  These kind of situations also teach important virtues, such as, compassion, empathy, patience, etc..  For example, years ago, whenever my aunt Betty, planned and oversaw, our f. reunions, there came a time when she decided to change the location of them, because, many of our faithful, matriarchs and patriarchs, were getting older, and dealing with health limitations.  Needless to say, some of the younger ones (sadly, me included) did not understand why we were moving it from our "perfectly" wonderful, traditional, and enjoyable, etc., place!  We were clueless about matters such as;  Diabetes, Arthritis, and other - symptoms, chronic pains, etc., therefore, we were insensitive to the needs of the ones who were actually struggling with them!  Later on, well - NOW, for ME anyway, it is completely understood, as to why we moved the location, and, not because I'm old (ha!), but, because, I have a back injury, deal with chronic pain from it, and, the heat and humidity, intensify my pain so much that, I am not able to Do many activities that at one time I could easily do, and, the availability of an air conditioned room on VERY hot days during reunions or other outdoor functions, is greatly appreciated, by me!  It has taken me years to put all of the emotional pieces together, of the countless lessons learned, such as, I need to be empathetic toward other people, and their struggles, and, I am certain, that somehow, God has used the "changing of the location of the 'Hill' reunions" scenario, and, many more of my life's scenarios, to, teach and develop, some honorable virtues, characteristics, etc., in me!   Nothing in life can replace, the memories that I have of, vacations in various places with my, momma Ann, poppa Gary, and, little seeeester, Tina (Tina Bopper - one of my nicknames for her), and sometimes, various other family members, loved ones, and friends!  Nor, is there a replacement for the music at our reunions, with, dad, pappy Roy, and others, strumming their instruments, while singing, and, great aunt Ethel, and others, chiming out the lead part, great uncle Harley singing tenor, and, the rest of us - trying to harmonize with them!  We usually sang several songs, but, the main one in which we took pride in singing was the blessed song, "What a Day That Will Be," because, Jim Hill, a family member, who passed away in the last year or so, whom I never had the pleasure of meeting, wrote.  In my, heart and mind, it seems as though, I could go on forever, writing about the memories of special times with "family," however, as usual - with my 'blog posts,' I'm running out of writing space, therefore, maybe I'll elaborate on this subject matter at another time, on a future 'blog post?!'  However, I must write that, I am VERY MUCH - looking forward to the "BIG reunion," that I've already made my reservation to attend, one day in Heaven, which, shall turn into a "permanent vacation," "of sorts," thanks to 'The Trinity' (Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit) making it possible, for me, and, each and every soul, to claim a ticket (Salvation - through Christ Jesus - Romans 6:23,10:9+10), etc., by GRACE through FAITH (Ephesians 2:8)!  It is going to be an infinite celebration of, people loving people, like I have never experienced here on earth, in my finiteness!  Those 'Saints' (in The Lord), who have already departed, shall be there to greet us - after 'The Good Lord' does!  WOW!!  What a "PARTY" that's s gonna be!  Please, be certain that your reservation is confirmed with Jesus, so that, we'll be able to celebrate together - throughout eternity!!  Until next time...