Celebrate ::
The New Year in our New Haven assemblage of friends and kin, does not come quietly. We are a loud, bawdy and raucous lot of (S)pirit-drinking, foot-stomping, arm-pumping, heart-panting, dancing, freak show of revelers—unbridled in the conveying of our festive selves . . .
:::
There is a warm, fluid reverence cruising through my blooded-veins while I slip my legs into the sheer-grey New Year’s tights and apply the party-going lipstick. In the bedroom, before the full-length mirror, I’m swaying already to the unseen music of coming celebration. I’m looking at my flesh and I’m thinking that every day my earth-body bears the bandages of real, deep, hazardous-to-my-heart, {daily} living and celebration seems the highest worship I can gift my God in the midst of it, as if to say —-> in spite of all the wounds against my skin and all the fractures crevicing my aorta, I will “with smoldering eyes declare: Life, I WILL love you.” Christ, I WILL love You. Still.
This is a conscious word-harmony singing from my spirit through all the readiness and I choose clothes with care and which earrings look better with this dress? Because it matters to me how I show-up-to-let-go, give over and spill praise for Him and Her who gave me this “one wild and precious life“.
And like rainbow threads going into the same tapestry, we are—all of us—pulled from our individual dwelling places on this night by a great, cosmic Weaver and in our coming together, this human-clownery-collection is woven by divine-Hand into a drapery-declaration of LIVING artwork. Oh, on the surface, we make outward exclamations about shoes and hats and other creative wardrobe elements, “You bought your dress in Paris?! It’s so beautiful!” But, there is beneath the material we’re wearing a buzz of holy anticipation, we know we are here to look across the room at each other and remember; we’re here to shout our lungs desert-dry and lift our we-made-it-another-year glasses and get all tribal-loose on the dance floor. Because together? We will continue to grab life by the shoulders. Grab her by her shoulders, stare straight into her tempest-face and say, “You, Life! Yes, you. I will squeeze every last dangerous drop from your heart and let you intoxicate me.”
So we spin and we dip and we go low and our limb-aching, sweat-dripping bodies speak like a letter to the Romans, revealing the smooth merlot of our future glory, the glory we’re supposed to wait for? We can sneak sips of it now . . . celebrate!
To me? This is what it means to celebrate: to give ceremony to life. Give ceremony to every little and big moment {whether it be New Year’s festivities or picking a friend up from work at 11:30pm} that would otherwise go unnoticed. And I feel it, even under all my wounds and bandages, that this is heaven—our future glory—partaken and savored in the right-now.
:::
Celebrate :: This is my word for 2012. I’m giving ceremony to as much living as I can; sneaking sips of future glory like an audacious, mischievous child.
Happy New Year, my Loves.
Life ::
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14 Comments
Celebrate- what a wonderful and life-giving word! I look forward to seeing how it manifests in the coming year.
Side note: that sounds like one kick awesome NYE party. Next year, I may have to crash.
Girl, you can crash our parties ANYtime!!!
Love,
Erika
And this my dear Erika, is why I love you…You are absolutely adorable…. I love seeing your beautiful face. Celebrate my dear friend…. My word for the year is “Rebirth”….. Life has beaten me down this past year… my soul feels emptied from the battering of the winds and storms that have come… so I pray “Holy Spirit blow the winds of rebirth in my soul…” I want to FEEL again the pleasure of His heart beating in me…. xoxoxoxo
Oh, I pray that with you my precious Jewel . . . And I’m hugging your battered self so big right now.
I love you being vulnerable with me here. Thank-you, always, for sharing life with me.
Love,
Me
you open your heart and poetry spills out across the world.
loving you, so so much…words can’t even say how much.i love this word celebrate…celebrate LIFE!!!!
xoxoxo x infinity
Well, when you put “infinity” next to your x’s and o’s, it pretty much trumps everything . . . Unless I were to say “xoxoxoxo x infinity and beyond!”
I win.
Gosh, I love you.
Perfect word for you. And this writing? A wonderful way to picture worship with all of who we are – celebrate life, wounds and all. Go, girl!
It makes me inordinately happy every time you stop by, Diana. I treasure your wisdom, whenever I happen upon your words.
Thank-you so much for being a part of mine.
All my love,
Erika
I love the way you string together words. Its seriously inspiring and beautiful. I think celebrate is an incredible word and so perfect!
Shelby, you bless me so much by stopping in and leaving your kindness. Thank-you mightily.
Love,
Erika
What a wonderful word and wish for 2012!! I’m totally going to be celebrating with you. To live bravely with my eyes open. My word for the year is warrior(ess) as I attempt to remove the mask and be me without apology. Not going to be an easy task but I will celebrate every victory.
My Warrior(ess) Friend! That word excites me to no end . . . Can’t wait to see how this unfurls in your story this year!
Love to you,
Erika
Love.
Love back.
Erika