If everything is perfect in your world, this is not the post for you. If the joy of Christmas is overflowing in your heart, we truly rejoice for you- it is a beautiful gift and we pray you can immerse yourself in this season.
For everyone else, this week’s theme can be hard. Really hard. I weep as I consider those of who are experiencing this holiday after a loss. And young moms, I remember the exhaustion and guilt that seem the inevitable companions to the end of year. Jobs lost, lives changed in unpredictable ways, disappointments. Loneliness. Talking about joy seems obscene.
One of our Advent readings provides a helpful perspective for handling this. “Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.” James 5:7-8
We may not be experiencing joy right now. We may not even be able to imagine a day when joy will be possible. But we can wait patiently, knowing that Jesus is coming back and he will make everything right. Joy is not in season, but we know- just as surely as a farmer knows that the harvest will come- that God is growing its roots. We tend our crops by staying rooted in the word, in the community of faith, in prayer.
In the meantime, where does our strength come from? In Nehemiah, the people of God are told that “the joy of God is your strength.” Notice- they are not told to find their joy in the Lord (though that is a reasonable command). They are told to find strength in the Lord’s joy.
So in this moment in time, there may be no feeling of joy- maybe even no memory of joy for you. Or maybe you see joy over the hill, but your fatigue or despair keeps you from getting to it anytime soon. Can you gain strength from the joy of God, who adores us and is working constantly to draw us to him? Our Father, who will be present with us in suffering and hold our tears in his hand? Our Adonai, who will strengthen us for the journey ahead? Today, this is my prayer.
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