Joy!

This week has been a battle! No matter where I have looked, however, I have witnessed and experienced 
pure joy

 - and trust me, this week has had it bumps!

 My husband and I were both involved in collisions this week.  Thankfully, no involved parties were injured.  A year ago, it would have ruined my week.  "I can't believe this happened to me!  I can't believe I have to deal with these people and the insurance company!  I can't believe my husband's car has damage and now we are going to have to get it fixed.  I can't believe our premiums are going up!"  Me, me, me, I, I, I...

I realized Tuesday night, after all of this had happened, that I was smiling and laughing about it all.  Of course I understand the seriousness of the situation, but I also realized very quickly that it could have been much worse.   My family was safe, we were talking and breathing and laughing, and for that, I am so thankful.  



I also have noticed how happy my youngest son (6 months old) has been.  He is teething, congested, and has fairly severe eczema that can appear very painful.  I get the sniffles and I am whiny, but he is so happy and content nearly all of the time.  It reminds me of a verse that we have listened to on one of my son's school CD's this week..."Give thanks in all circumstances.  For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thes. 5:18.  Despite all of our problems, or having two wrecks, or how we feel, we are told to give thanks.  



I had previously talked about beginning to teach Samuel, a young man from Uganda who has recently been adopted by a friend.  I have had the pleasure of teaching him two days this week, and that child is nothing but smiles!  His favorite song..."Don't Worry, Be Happy!"   Knowing a little bit about the child's background, if anyone has the right to complain, or worry, or be angry, it is Samuel. Every time you look at him, though, he is smiling and laughing and so thankful for everything he has.  He tells his family, "No complaining!"  WOW, if that is not convicting to we Americans, who have everything and thus, complain about everything!  My favorite thing about Samuel is watching him dance.  I am white, as white as they come, and cannot dance whatsoever, so I am taken by anyone with rhythm.  I played our Bob Marley and the Wailers CD while he and Ephraim were eating lunch, and I look up to see Samuel dancing and trying to teach Ephraim to do the same, both of them smiling from ear to ear.  That much joy was contagious.



As I move through the year of nothing, I am finding that materialism and joy are indirectly proportional.  I am far from literally having nothing, but have had to give up some "luxuries" and be more content with what I have, only to find that my level of joy has greatly increased.  I am reading a book my Adam Hamilton titled 24 Hours That Changed the World.  Its focus is the last 24 hours of the life of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion.  If you are not familiar with the story of the crucifixion, the books of the gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) paint a picture of unimaginable torture, humiliation, and isolation both physically and spiritually.  Yet, with sacrificial love, Christ refused offers of myrrh (a known pain reducer), in order to fully take on the pain of humanity, understanding his purpose as the Son of Man and the sacrifice for a hurting world.  

There is no record of smiling and laughing- the pain was undoubtedly unbearable- but some of his last words were those of the promise of a new life to the man hanging on the cross next to him, saying, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43).  Adam  Hamilton says in chapter five of his book, "[Jesus] has set an example for us of a kind of love that alone has the power to save humanity..."  Have you ever tried to love without joy?  The two are inseparable, for God is the embodiment of both (I John 4:8, Luke 10:21, Ps. 43:4).  You might not believe in Christ as more than a mere man or prophet, but you cannot escape the fact that he willingly gave of himself for what he believed was a divine purpose.  



So, I have learned that 

With little, there is much.



My challenge for you is to find joy where you are, and my prayer for you is that you find that joy through the love of Jesus Christ!