Choosing Joy

Friends, it has been a good long while since I've posted anything. In a renewed commitment to reflect (in this format) more regularly, I'm focusing on a topic that's been pretty significant to me in the last few months.

Joy is that element of life that you sometimes hear people talking about as a distinctive: "happiness is circumstantial, but joy is a choice." What does it mean to choose joy?

It means in the face of hardships, we look for the blessing. when relationships are strained, we look for the truth, intention, and hope behind the pain. when the future is uncertain, we revel in the clarity of the moment. or when the moment is distorted, we search for the core of goodness that surpasses the passing impression. when we work for justice and the results are discouraging, we cling to the joy of small victories, of new break-throughs, of the beauty of people working in cooperation for a common good.

one of my favorite quotes related to the pursuit of justice while embracing joy is from Gary Haugen, director of the International Justice Mission:

"The victims of injustice in our world do not need our spasm of passion; they need our long obedience in the same direction. They need our legs and lungs of endurance; and we need sturdy stores of joy. We cannot ache and sweat through history's long arc of justice without clutching life-giving stores of beauty, laughter, goodness, love and light, without snatching delicious naps in the cool grassy spots, and without late night fires with friends who make us flush and ache with laughter. To carelessly ditch the cool canteen of joy in the name of a severe urgency is to misunderstand the expedition and to render one's self useless in the fight against aggressive evil."

Joy was a little elusive for me in the fall. Communal life wasn't the easiest, I was missing friends who had moved, I was struggling at work, and it seemed that relationships that used to be easy were hard, and those that had been hard were just replaced by other challenges. But a friend reminded me of Guerrillas of Grace, and Autumn's poem was particularly applicable: Waken in Me a Sense of Joy.

"O extravagant God, in this ripening, red-tinged autum, waken in me a sense of joy in just being alive, joy for nothing in general except everything in particular; . . . joy in having what I cannot live without-- other people to hold and cry and laugh with; joy in love, in you; and that all at first and last is grace."

What brings me joy? My family. This Christmas was a beautiful reunion after 4 Christmas' of not being together. And an added blessing? Simon Claassen Thrush! That little pumpkin has stolen my heart. being an auntie has been such a thrill. his big blue eyes, his little tricks, his tottering steps, his giggle, his shy smile, his charmer smile, his sleepy smile, his cuddly moods...so good. and sharing DC with Alan & Beth? quality.

'nother joy? GREs being done. done done and DONE. and the math? kicked that mug out the way! and I'm so grateful for the friends who supported me and encouraged me along the way - because studying for that stuff was not fun. but as one beautiful friend put it, God's call is not dependent on test scores. thank goodness!

final joy? (before bed): the Grantham Girls. the 5 of us were freshmen on Grantham 2nd Hall in 2002-2003. From that year, we created a bond that has lasted for the last 7/8 years. dang! each year has brought more adventures, more memories made, more laughter shared, more ridiculousness embraced. this last weekend was no exception. these girls make me flush and ache with laughter. if ever a word could brand a group, it could be "joy" - and I am full of that joy reflecting back on our years of friendship.

"Come, Lord Jesus, expand me by your power, . . . to do something I believe in and be something more of who I mean to be and can be, . . . to link my passion with courage, my hope with discipline, my love with persistence, to enable me to learn from difficulties, grow in adversities, gain wisdom from defeats, perspective from disappointments, gracefulness from crises, and find joy in simply living it all fully." (Gentle My Desperation)