SOMETIMES . . . another look

[A second look at this post, published in 2020, seems appropriate right now--some of us are lamenting the passing of 2022, others wish it had gone away sooner. Perhaps we just need a little joy . . . .]

You may remember a blog back in the summer of 2017 when I explored the land of Sometimes.

Today I'm taking us on a different sojourn in the same land--a happy sojourn, because whether we know it or not, 

SOMETIMES JOY BREAKS THROUGH.

I can hear your question: Why wouldn't I want Joy to break through? Well, let's talk about that.

Sometimes, Joy breaks through when you're at a cemetery service for the interment of a loved one.

Sometimes, it's while you're reading a book that touches your heart and soul.

Sometimes, it's when you hear a piece of  music that draws you in and holds you, keeps you safe.

Sometimes, it can happen when you watch a young father change his baby's diaper.

Sometimes, on a gloomy day--a real downer--you suddenly feel like dancing (never mind your two left feet).

Why, we wonder? Why--or maybe, how--does this happen? For me, Joy breaking through happens this way:

--God breaks through our sadness.

--God parts the curtain, lifts the veil.

--And it happens because God loves us, wants us to be happy and loving and giving, even in times of grief and anger and disappointment.

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Nearly everyone has a favorite Bible verse. Mine is a partial verse, Matthew 28:20b--Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

These words have sustained me in the most trying times:

--travel in dangerous winter weather

--my mother's long illness and then death

--marriage at a young age

--birth of four children in six years, with no family nearby for help or support

--waiting for teenage children to return home at night

--erosion of a marriage, and eventual divorce

--learning I have serious health issues; living with cancer, heart disease, vision problems

Always--always!--God broke through the veil and let Joy return to comfort and keep me.

The success of Joy breaking through may depend, in part, on our willingness to let it happen.

Sometimes, the rut we wallow in is/becomes quite comfortable.

Sometimes, we see no possible way to go, to be.

Sometimes, we refuse help--believing that if we can't do it ourselves, then nobody else can help us.

And thus God has fashioned us human beings to help each other; to be God's eyes, ears, hands, arms, and feet where God would go, if only we'd allow it.

I  have to confess: I have a hard time accepting help; past experience has shown me getting help from others may have negative side effects. But I also freely confess, I wouldn't have made it through my life without the help of other people.

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Time for a little language lesson. Did you ever notice that enjoy contains the word joy? To en-joy is to inject joy into something. To make it happen. To summon it out.

And another good word for us is rejoice, also derived from joy. We sang "rejoice! rejoice!" during Advent. We sang "Joy to the world" at Christmas.

Perhaps we're hard-wired to keep joy in life, for ourselves and for others.

Be blessed!