What If We Celebrated Anyway?

By Meghan Ryan Asbury

Have you ever stood in the middle of someone else’s celebration—smiling, clapping, maybe even holding a glass of champagne—while secretly feeling like a spectator in your own life?

Celebrating can feel challenging—especially when we are in seasons when it feels like there is nothing to celebrate. It can be tempting to think parties or gatherings are reserved only for major milestones. We’re “too busy,” “too sad,” or waiting for the “real” joy to show up later.

Especially in our social media-driven age, it can start to feel performative. Are we genuinely excited about this moment, or are we just trying to make it look good for the photos and videos we’ll post later? Maybe we started out excited, but eventually the occasion becomes more about documenting the moment than actually experiencing it.

I know what it’s like to walk through seasons where life feels gray. In those moments, I could barely muster up the energy to participate in a friend’s joy because mine seemed so far away. It was in those moments I learned something important: Choosing to celebrate is one of the best ways to experience joy in our current circumstances.

Here’s what else I’ve learned, especially in the gray seasons: even in my darkest moments of grief, I’ve felt a quiet nudge to practice the discipline of celebrating. Not because I wanted to discount my pain, but because I needed to be reminded of God’s goodness, even when my life felt anything but good.

When you think about it, celebration is a huge cadence of our lives and calendars. We mark holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, and seasons. In ancient times, people marked sacred festivals not just with rituals but with joy. These weren’t just religious obligations; they were ways to remember how far they’d come, what they’d been rescued from, and who had carried them through. Even the Bible outlines many feasts and festivals. The word “celebrate” in the Old Testament is translated from the Hebrew verb hagag, which means “to prepare, keep, or observe a feast or festival.” The reason for celebration was to remember what God had done for his people.

We should celebrate today for the same reason: to remember and rejoice in what God has done. Whether we’re lighting candles for a festival, gathering for a family meal, or raising a glass on a Tuesday just because we can, we celebrate to connect, to remember what matters, and to honor that we’re still here.

In my own life and faith, I’ve learned that celebration isn’t just about parties—it’s about paying attention. Psalm 27:13 says, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” That line reminds me to look for goodness not just in hindsight but in the here and now. A celebration doesn’t have to be a party. It can be making dinner plans the day you get your hair done so you can make the most out of a fresh blowout, or making a home or apartment registry you can share with friends when they ask you what you want for your birthday. It can be inviting people over to celebrate finishing that project that’s been consuming your life for months.

Life will never stop giving us reasons to postpone joy, but we don’t have to keep looking ahead at future possibilities to rejoice—those will come. We don’t want to look back and regret not taking a moment to savor the goodness of right now.

So, what if we paused anyway—to mark this moment, this heartbeat, this quiet miracle of being alive? What if we dared to look the hard things in the world in the face and tell them there is still beauty to be found here? What if we were brave enough to rebel against the ways life tries to tear us down and found reasons to bring light into the world?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to sit on the sidelines waiting for something that seems “worthy” of celebration. I want to be an active participant in this one precious, beautiful life God has gifted me with. God doesn’t ask us to sit on the sidelines as spectators; He invites us to participate.

Let’s celebrate today on earth as it is in heaven.

— V —

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Meghan Ryan Asbury is an author and speaker who is passionate about helping people discover and live out their God-given callings. She has worked in international ministries as well as with Proverbs 31 Ministries. When she’s not surrounded by friends, you can usually find her reading a book or enjoying the great outdoors. A 30-A beach girl, born and raised, she and her husband now reside in Nashville. Her first book, You Are Not Behind: Building a Life You Love Without Having Everything You Want, is available wherever books are sold. You can connect with her on Instagram @meghanryanasbury and at AlwaysMeghan.com.