Party

We had a party last night because Daniel is turning 30 on Thursday. It was supposed to be a surprise party but I don't do surprises. By that I mean that I can't keep a big, exciting secret and I spilled the beans. Anyway, it wasn't a big party, a fancy party or a crafty party with decorations and games from Pinterest because y'all know I suck at scissors. It was low key with good barbecue, craft beer and amazing cupcakes. To fancy it up, I pulled out all my Mawmaw's glass dishes, which means there were a lot of dishes to wash this morning because we live in an old house with no dishwasher.

Perhaps I would have cursed all the dishes to be washed but as I stood at the sink with soapy hands and hot water, looking out the window at the fall afternoon, the big bare tree right outside stripped of its leaves and the woods looking a little thin as they prepare themselves for what is predicted to be a long, cold winter, I thought 'What a privilege it is to wash these dishes in this house.'

 This old house that I love so much. This old house that gave me chills the first time I walked into it and imagined our family living and breathing and loving within the old panelled walls. This old house whose floors are slanted from settling over time. This old house with its cracks and barely insulated floors that are freezing in the winter. The front door that doesn't fit that well in the door frame. The one that you have to wrestle just to lock.

What a privilege it is to have friends and family over for an unpretentious night of amazing food and friendship. What a privilege it is to watch husbands and wives enjoy each other and their children. To watch the children play and fight and cause mischief. What a privilege to watch them run around the yard, chasing the poor chickens, delighting in those birds who give us our breakfast.  What an absolute privilege it is to watch all of our friends eat and drink in our home, to have their children play with our toys and leave our house a mess. To watch new friendships and conversations rise up organically over food and drinks.

Yes, I thought all of that while I washed dishes.

I thought about how Jesus invited the twelve disciples to partake of one last meal before he died. How he turned water into wine for some already drunk party goers just because Mary asked him to. I thought about how we are invited to have parties, have meals and drinks with one another because breaking bread with new friends and old, even friends who will betray you like Judas did to Jesus, is a holy experience. I found this afternoon that washing dishes after a night where all of my friends and their families gathered is one of the holiest experiences of my life.

As the holidays approach we'll be bombarded by food, drinks, parties and gifts. Let us remember that perhaps the greatest gifts are the dishes that remain, the remnants of laughter and the conversations for in the midst of the party, Jesus is there turning something simple into something extraordinary.

I believe that God is the creator of the miraculous but I often find that the miraculous is disguised in the common.