Seeking and finding joy

From the Heart

In the midst of a bleak midwinter … there was Joy.

I found it in the sweetness of a recipe shared by my dear friend Mary Alice. Her legacy is carried on in the cookies I bake every Christmas.

Alexa plays Christmas music while I settle into arranging all the ingredients that will be mixed into cookie after cookie. The kitchen chaos is alive and well on a cold December day.

As the music beckons me to “oh, come let us adore Him,” I am taken back in time to singing in the choir in a little church that still stands a few blocks from our home. Those memories warm my soul. “All is calm, all is bright.”

My soul needs the calm. My heart needs the bright.

“Joy to the world!” Oh, how much the world needs joy. Joy is not about being in the midst of “everything is okay” circumstances. It is found in the beauty of our moments. Seek and it shall be found.

That first bite of a gingersnap, as my tastebuds fight for dibs on the first taste. All the sweeter if it’s homemade. There is love mixed in every batch.

I feel the softness of the cheek of my new great-grandbaby, Tiberius, as I rock him and let him know that Gaga will always love him and his brother, Jason. I sing “Silent Night” and the tears fall as I pray that their great-great-grandpa, Jim Hart, is looking down from above and he, somehow, knows that Tiberius has James as his middle name. Never forgotten.

Joy has a way of sneaking in on the dreariest of days. It is a beautiful feeling when I take the time to acknowledge its presence. Did I pay attention to the sunset that God beckoned me to see in the western sky? Oh, the artistic beauty of God’s paintbrush. The spacious skies remind me that God sheds His grace on me … lavishly.

Have I really, like really, listened to the words of “Mary did you know”? I hear the words, “the blind will see.” What am I missing? I don’t want the chaos of my circumstances to hinder my sight of the wonders of which I have sang all these years before. The wonders of His love.

Joy can be found in the bleakest of our circumstances. Joy looks beyond the dismal foreboding of the 6:00 news. It sees that I have made it through today and I can hope that tomorrow will be better.

Joy gives security in the present. Hope gives security in the future. Delight in the moment. Embrace the blessings of the day. Look forward to the promises of tomorrow.

A blessed moment is like an ember that grows into a fire of hope.

The phone call from a friend who just wanted to see how I was doing. I needed to hear a friendly voice. She didn’t know I was hurting.

The kindness of a stranger who just wanted to pay it forward. He had no idea that I needed his kindness. “Thank you, sir.”

The scripture that showed up in my morning devotions: “Surely the Lord is in this place.” No matter how dire my circumstances … I am not alone.

Joy that causes my breaking heart to applaud. Joy that catches the attention of my hurting soul.

Joy is the spark of hope in the bleakest of winter days. May I always seek, for if I do … joy will be found.