Journey to Joy

Joy: Joy is not pleasure, a mere sensation, but a pervasive and constant sense of wellbeing. Hope in the goodness of God is joy's indispensable support.- Dallas Willard

As I looked through our nativity sets recently, I noticed that we don't have a single one that shows Mary...pregnant... on a donkey.  That's when it struck me how uncharacteristic it must be.  It's funny how we often want to remember just the end of the story where all was calm and bright.  But "joy comes",  that phrase implies it was not first there.  We journey to joy.   

This week as we enter the JOY theme of Advent, I don’t necessarily feel joyful.  Over the last few weeks life has been a bit tangled.  Its uncanny how difficulties can bring rise to our otherwise buried pain.   I find myself wanting to manage it much like I'd shore up the discomfort of a headache with an aspirin. However, while there may be over-the-counter remedies for headaches, there are none for heart-disruption.  So we are left with a choice to either see it through or bury it.   One brings life, the other takes it.

It’s tempting and quite normal to bury pain, especially at Christmas.  Who has time to deal with trouble when there’s so much to be done? This is the season of peace, joy and love; not conflict, sorrow, and pain – right?  Every time we bury hurt it is like sowing a little seed of death.  It germinates in dark soil spaces, nourished by images of pain, and takes root. Over time, given the right environment, it will sprout; making its appearance above the soil in unexpected places.  With remarkably protective posture, this stubborn shoot yields cynicism, contempt, fear and isolation...joy-stealers! (By the way, I can always tell when I’ve encounter a bitter-root sapling because my response seems out of proportion to the circumstance.)

But there is another choice. We can invite God into the pain and let him bring healing.  That’s what happens when we “see it through”.  We stay in it, feel it, let it be messy and seek God in it...we gaze into his face to find him present.  Answers are tempting distractions, but rarely salve the wound the way the ministry and fellowship of God will.  As the song says, “He is the balm in Gilead that makes the wounded whole”. 

So this Advent-Joy time has been a reminder for me to journey to the manger, in the everyday-ordinary, to stare at what arises once again and hold joy close. 

Romans 12:1-2 says this, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.….. fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.”

That’s what difficulty does.  It affords the opportunity to adjust our focus and recount God's activity…

“Once again I’ll go over what God has done,
    lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
I’ll ponder all the things you've accomplished,
    and give a long, loving look at your acts.” – Ps 77:11-12

This is the anchor on which we tether our heart as it sways in the wind between the outcries of our soul and the whispers of God. (I wonder if Mary's heart swayed as she traveled over rough terrain on the back of a donkey journeying to Bethlehem?)  It’s worth every wave that comes because when it’s over, joy shows up.  Life is new and less hindered; allowing us to remember that while sorrow may be lent our way for a season, Joy is given to us for a lifetime. 

 As you consider the good things God has done, what come to mind?

What are the places of discomfort and pain that you are tempted to bury for the sake of the Holidays?

How can you invite God into it and let him bring healing and joy?