I was sitting in the phlebotomist’s chair getting my regular blood work done, and I saw a man and his 4-ish year-old daughter walking up the ramp at the front of the building next door. He was doing the usual parent thing, keeping an eye on her and making sure she was safe. She, on the other hand, was jumping around as she slowly ascended the ramp, doing what I can only describe as a slalom around the poles of the handrail. I could see him talking to her, probably telling her to hurry up – time to go – things to do – and she bounced and swerved and danced her way towards him. I sat there thinking that this is joy! I remember being like that – I also remember being the dad, in a hurry, coaxing my children to get a move on.
When asked about entering the kingdom of heaven, Jesus never told His followers that reciting this creed or following every law or doing this number of good deeds would get them entrance to eternal life. He did teach that those things were important (well, maybe not the creed part), but not the most important part. Jesus took a little child (Mt. 18) and told them that we need to become like this, or we will never enter heaven. The Apostle Paul differentiated between childlike and childish in 1 Corinthians 13, teaching us that we have to put away childish ways and become more mature in our faith. For Jesus, though, I feel like He was trying to remind the listeners that children experience life and God with wonder and welcome, and, too often, we lose that as we get older. Embrace your inner child, He might say if He was a pop-psychologist. Find joy.
The world and all that goes with being a grown-up can suck the joy out of us. I hear it from people all the time – life’s struggles can often outweigh life’s victories. I get that completely; none of us is immune to loss and sadness and hardship, and I would never minimize how that makes us feel. But – we still need joy if we are going to embrace all that life has to offer. If you aren’t experiencing joy, what might help you find it? It might be something as simple as a sunset or as complicated as a change of direction in life. Yes – we still need to pay our bills and deal with changes in our health and difficult relationships; but what can we change to find some joy? Maybe we can stop at a schoolyard this weekend and get on a swing or sit by a river and attempt to fish. Maybe we can take an hour to read for fun. Where is your joy? And if you don’t feel any, where might you find it? Our spirits surely need some joy to make us whole. We are hardwired to experience joy, so get out and give it a try.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for the gift of joy and a new day to find it. Amen.
Today’s art is “Happiness” by Yvonne Coomber.