Curt StutzmanWhy do we take time to celebrate anniversaries? Let me share from my recent personal experience.
On Monday, June 6, 2016 my wife Kathy and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. We just returned from some time away reminiscing and enjoying each other’s company. She has been a blessing to me in many ways, including encourager, confidant and best friend, mother of our children, sounding board, and more. I believe it is important from time to time to step back and remember the journey which has brought us to the present. Doing this as a couple has been therapeutic and has encouraged us to continue the next 35 years building on and strengthening the foundations which brought us together many years ago. It helps clarify our sense of purpose as we move forward into the future together.
Messiah Lifeways celebrates an even more significant anniversary this year—120 years! It is appropriate to spend some time reminiscing and to commemorate where we’ve come from. It helps us to understand what brought us to where we are today, and this background is important as we plan for carrying our mission forward into the future. This week there have been historical photographs in the hallway by Compass Pointe Place at the Messiah Village campus. These show people helping people in various ways throughout our history on Mt. Allen Drive. It is interesting to see that, while we may do things a bit differently now than in the past, we are still finding ways to enhance the lives of older adults with Christ-like love.
I am grateful for the dedicated service many have provided to older adults in this ministry in the past 120 years. As we look to the future at Messiah Lifeways, we do so with the underlying sense of purpose established from our origins. We also seek creative ways to carry our mission forward with excellence and an eye toward better ways to serve senior adults. For instance, the expansion of our Messiah Village campus will bring improvements to resident experiences in many areas through state-of-the-art additions of Village Square apartment homes, Enrichment Center, Wellness Center, Café 100, Kathryn’s on the Square, the Hopewell neighborhood, and new nursing neighborhoods with private rooms. We continue to expand our offerings at Mount Joy Country Homes, and we carry our mission to the greater community through a variety of impactful community-based services.
As you can see, there are important reasons to recognize and celebrate anniversaries. It is not just to remember the past and our origins, but to establish a foundation upon which to build our lives and mission for the future. For this reason, we can gladly say, “Happy Anniversary!”
Curt Stutzman
