"...joy is a mystery because it can happen
anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in the
midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes. Even nailed to a tree.” Frederick
Buechner
Joy is
a little like riding a bike after neglecting it for years. No matter how much
time or sadness has passed, no matter how many tears we’ve cried, joy is
something we never really lose our capacity for. We smile through our tears, we
dance with a limp, we feel it welling up right through our sorrow. Unexpected
joy is a drink of cold water for our souls, a glimpse of beauty in a desert, a
sound no symphony could capture.
Pay
attention. Without invitation, joy is sneaking into your life. It comes to
heal. It reminds you and me that there is more to being human than pain. There
are funny babies and puppies. There are soothing sunsets and emerging spring
life . . . nests and nestlings, woods of color and newness of life.
And
there is a God who loves you. A God who delights in you. A God who finds great
joy in you. A God who sneaks joy back into your life.
That
slipped-in-laughter, that well-of-joy is a promise. It shows us that we have
not lost our capacity for abundant life. In time, we will find ourselves back
on the bicycle, wind in our hair, head thrown back, laughing again with a
capacity we never knew before we experienced grief.
Pay
attention. Joy is a mystery.
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