I think this generation of young adults NEED milestones and celebrations and ceremonies and markers, but they don’t know it. Some of my children have not wanted to celebrate their graduation perhaps because they feel uneasy about ceremony and public announcements in general? And this uneasiness has carried over into other things. I have a daughter who is essentially “married” (but not) because she can’t wrap her head around the actual wedding. I know others who are committed to Christ but refuse to be baptized because it would require a public event within the context of the church community.

I don’t have all my thoughts in order about this, but I see this in so many areas: a reluctance to attend weddings and funerals and baby showers and other markers, a social anxiety that afflicts many young people I know, a reluctance to have a graduation ceremony or a wedding or baptism or whatever. I’m not talking about the expense but rather the commitment and vulnerability that is required to announce a milestone or achievement or commitment in one’s life and invite others to celebrate it with you. The celebration of definite commitments and events is important and lacking in people who just want to drift into adulthood or marriage or even Christian commitment. When we drift into these periods and chapters and allegiances in our lives, we more easily drift out as well.