Jubilee

Well, it finally happened.  A couple of weeks ago I reached the half-century mark.  I will be honest and say I was dreading it.  But then again, each time I have hit a decade, I have dreaded it.  My best friend is a mere 4 days older than I and she seems to handle each decade with much more certainty than I do and I admire this about her.  I tried to embrace “The Big Five-O” with grace, but maybe by the next decade I’ll do better.

In any case, she had a big 5 day long party in Las Vegas and she extended her celebration to include me.  It was a wonderful and raucous way to fling me, kicking and screaming, into our fifties.

What I learned:  In the Bible, every 50 years is called a Jubilee Year.  In the year of Jubilee, captives and slaves are set free, property that has been sold or lost in debt is returned to its original owners, and all debts are forgiven.

And so I claim this for myself and all those of my friends who are turning 50 this year.  The time for mourning has passed and now it’s time to have some fun.  Ashes have been traded in for beauty!  We ARE set free and all debts have been forgiven.  Now, I look forward to this Jubilee and all the yearlong celebrations that come with it!  Woo hooo!

"The Lord God has put his Spirit in me, because the Lord has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor.  He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken, to tell the captives they are free, and to tell the prisoners they are released.  He has sent me to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness and the time when our God will punish evil people.  He has sent me to comfort all those who are sad and to help the sorrowing people of Jerusalem.  I will give them a crown to replace their ashes, and the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow and clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness."  Isaiah 61:1-3 NCV