In October of next year, my mother and father will be celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary. Isn’t that something? 60 years of marriage. Planning and preparation are already underway; we’re all excited about this milestone event. But no one is more excited about the event than my mother. In fact, I believe that my mother is living for this celebration. She has not been well during this past year, and her health is failing. And I believe that a part of that which is keeping my mother alive is her anticipation of this great celebration. There’s a lesson in this. More meaning comes out of anything when we prepare for it.

One of the reasons the great festival of the church do not have the meaning that they have the potential of having is that we don’t make the preparation for them that we…