Days Of JOY No Matter What … Hello weekend readers. I hope you are ready to dive into “Christmas Joy” because who needs it—we all do! My musings on Joy reminded me of my Christmas childhood; me and Al on our Christmas excursions—we usually take off on the 26 and go somewhere camping; and how Christmas joy—as we age, takes on a new meaning every year. That said, I heard a click on my laptop and Alisa Appelo, writer and part of Proverbs 31 Women’s Ministry (and a great speaker) popped up with her new book. I emailed her and said, “Can I share some of your story in a devotion about Christmas Joy?” Without hesitation she said “yes!” My reason for Alisa’s story is what happens when Joy is removed and how we can get it back. Read on…
“I remember how my heart sank four years ago at the thought of facing our first Christmas without Dan. I so wanted it to be a happy time for my seven kids and me. I so wanted to make good memories for my children. But how in the world could we muster any kind of excitement? Our life had turned inside out and we were in deep grief. We desperately needed joy. We needed something that would help us not just get through the days but something that would help us enjoy them. And so, that tough Christmas four years ago, we started a new tradition. We called it Days of Joy and our goal was to find a way to bless someone else each day. Somehow we knew enough to realize that by God’s design, a huge key to finding joy for ourselves again was to serve others. That Christmas became marked by the intention to bless others. We celebrated Days of Joy through acts of blessing and we still do each year.”
lisa’s husband, Dan, had died at night in bed a week before Christmas. Imagine this family on the verge of Christmas to a death that squashed Joy like a hammer breaks glass. How do you put that back together again? You don’t. All of us have experienced losses, and for those at Christmas, it can become a Blue Christmas and Joy can be just as elusive as finding peace. Alisa said “There was pain, but there was also Joy. In the hardest and saddest days we’d ever known, we were fighting for some kind of Joy that would overshadow our pain. We did make memories and as I look back, I will forever remember that first hard Christmas as a tender time where we chased hard after joy.”
Ah—that is her answer and it should be our answer, too. When Christmas Joy gets squashed like a bug, we need to chase hard after joy. What does that mean? Take the lead that Alisa did with her family; ‘sit down and plan some ways you can show Joy to others’! It may not be easy, interruptions at Christmas come daily. It can stretch us beyond what we think we can do, but in the end, it usually will surprise us and our Joy will once again overflow.
In Luke’s Gospel 2:9-11 [NLT], the angel proclaimed Joy to the people who, in those days, had been yearning to find something joyful and God showed up right on time: “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great Joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”
So, what does Joy mean to you, especially at Christmas? Even when hardship steps in to take away our Joy, don’t lose what Joy means to you. Why? Because Joy is not something you can conjure up; Joy comes from God alone. That is why Joy is one of the 4 gifts Jesus brought to us that first Christmas…and He still brings it every year and every second of our lives. So, sing it out: Joy to the world the Lord has come…(then)…repeat the sounding JOY! AMEN!
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