Nehemiah 8:13-18

Nehemiah 8:13-18
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  Sometimes, it's important to remember just how far you've come.  We get so accustomed to our current surroundings that we often forget how long the journey was and just how challenging it was to get there.  We just think it's always been this way, and we also tend to forget about the people who helped us reach our current state.  They fade from memory, but our own effort remains.
  So the Jews had this festival to go and live in temporary structures for a time to remember when they were wanderers in the wilderness.  It reminded them that God had led them through, that God had helped them triumph over the wilderness, that they had come through chaos and found order.  It was a good reminder that they hadn't done this on their own, that they needed God in order to go forward.  They hadn't made it to Jerusalem on their own.
  Wherever you are, you haven't made it their on your own.  People have helped you out.  God has led you and equipped you.  God has made it possible for you to make it this far, and it's worth taking some time out to stop and thank God for leading you this far, and to pray for the grace to go forward from here.