When things feel hard and heavy, I often ask God for rest and peace. Rarely do I pray for joy. And yet, in all the waiting we do in Advent (and in life in general) joy comes - ready to surprise us. In these days before Christmas, I invite you to join me in praying for joy. Anticipate joy. Receive joy. Give thanks for joy. Joy is not a posture that dismisses pain, suffering, and despair. Rather, it is the faithful posture of allowing ourselves to be surprised by moments of delight and pleasure. In my experience, such joy often comes in ways that are simple. A beautiful Christmas card from a college friend I haven’t seen in years. A new holiday sweet that is yummy. A quiet night at home. The music of the season. The laughter of children. Such gifts are deceptively ordinary. If we aren’t paying attention, we can miss the extraordinary message of joy they bring.
I am grateful for you, church, and pray your season is filled with meaningful moments of joy. I also know this season is filled with difficult things. We worry about the future. We have experienced loss. We meet ourselves coming and going and in doing so, fail to foster the peace we long to see in the world. And so, this season and every day - please be gentle with yourselves and remember that two things can be true: we can experience great joy while also feeling great sorrow. Through it all, God is with us. Below I’m leaving a link to resources on our website that were curated with those in mind who may be experiencing sorrow at this time of the year.
Take wonderful care and hope to see you Sunday!
Teresa
