Perhaps one of the greatest joys in life is the view from the mountain top, the collective culmination of hard work and dedication paid off in a tremendous moment of good. Life naturally provides some of these “mountain top” experiences in the form of birthdays, graduations, weddings, retirements, even aptly named “celebrations of life” at the end of the journey. These are moments and instances in which one can look around and truly say, “I did it!”  

But yet, I must confess that whenever I find myself on top of the mountain, I immediately begin scanning the horizon for the next summit to scale. Upon finishing high school, my sights were immediately pointed toward college. As I walked across the stage to receive my bachelor’s degree, I could only focus on proposing and starting my career. My celebratory moments are ever overshadowed by a shifting focus toward the next great task. These moments that beg to be celebrated are seen as much ado about nothing for me, as there are surely greater journeys ahead, and an ever-growing list of tasks to be completed… what a thief of joy that perspective is, and an unbiblical one at that.  

I find inspiration in the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes chapter 2. He had been searching for meaning and pleasure in all aspects of life but continuously coming up empty. All that he pursued proved meaningless, as there surely is something better around the corner or a snare ready to snatch that which has been achieved. But as this chapter goes along, Solomon gives wisdom that I (and I believe many of us) need to take to heart; “So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from Him?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 NLT).  

Our purpose is not to continually move the goalposts and shy away from celebration, but rather to recognize that the very air in our lungs is a gift from God worth all the celebration we can muster. Each day is a new gift from our Creator and Savior, a new opportunity to celebrate. Life does not provide too many “mountain top” moments, rather, we should constantly be looking for causes to celebrate and reasons for joy.