I might have known when I picked my word for the holiday season that I’d have a chance to to dig deep and find the true meaning of the word. I should have expected the opportunity to put on my God sized glasses and look intently for it among the twinkling lights and seventeen versions of White Christmas playing on the radio station. I should have, but I didn’t.
I suppose I am a bit of a child at Christmas no matter what. I have expectations. I have hopes and visions of sweet Advent stories read by a perfectly lit tree with obedient and quiet children. The reality is usually more like the Griswolds meet the Grinch. The children being the Griswolds and me being the Grinch.
This year was going to be all about Joy.
Singing joy.
Giving joy.
Sharing joy.
See, I had counted 1,000 joy gifts already. I spent the weekend after Thanksgiving getting ready. I even anticipated Advent a week early and went with it anyway. Oh, it was going to be a season of joy and then some.
But today, my home looks a lot more like a hospital sick room than a joy filled snow globe. I spent the night by the tree, but not merry making. I was on the couch trying not to wake the house with my incessant coughing. Joy filled first week of December? Well, not so much.
So, if i’m unwrapping anything this week it is my heart and I’m handing it to Jesus one more time. I’m telling Him that I’m looking for joy. I know from experience that joy is not gush and it is most certainly not based on my circumstances. It comes from a place deeper. . .
A place where Christmas lives and breathes without tinsel and lights.
I’m thinking Mary may have looked around at her circumstances that first Christmas night and wondered how joy would rise up in the midst of the mess and stench of the stable. But it did.
Angels sang joy.
Shepherds shared joy.
Wise men brought joy gifts.
“but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” Luke 2:19 {NLT}
When I think on how Joy put on human flesh and was born in a stable it makes a little bit more sense to me, too. Messy stables or or living rooms don’t really set the seen for joy to rise up. But, you know, maybe it does.
Maybe, just maybe Joy shines best when it is the most precious thing in the room.
and we keep these things in our hearts.
thinking of them often.
xo,
Stacey
(This post is from the Christmas Archives, but it is absolutely on repeat in my life.)
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chillbumps.
This is just beautiful words of JOY! I always love popping in to your world for fresh encouragement.
Ahh, thanks Alene.
Love “unwrapping your heart” – joy is tough when you’re tired, but you’re right… it comes from a place far beyond our circumstances.
However, I do hope you feel better soon! 🙂
This reminds me about the difference between kairos and the clock. That God is not bound by the days on the calendar or our agenda to break into our routine with His purposes. I hope you feel better soon and feel His presence hovering over you in the midst of laying on that couch under the glow of twinkle lights.
Thank you Shelly. That is so true – He is not bound by the days of the month or time of year. Thanks for the well-wishes, hoping to be better soon.
Beautiful, Stacey. It’s difficult to acknowledge that brightness when you’re standing in the dark (whether that’s illness, loss, anything)…but in hindsight, it’s like nothing else. May we learn to recognize it…
Oh my, not the kind of Christmas curve ball any of us anticipate. But, finding Him, finding joy, in the midst of it all, making Him the priority even when we don’t feel joyful, well, that’s a lesson for us all.
Thank you for reminding us that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Let us all make joy precious this Christmas.
Thanks Kate – I am feeling a bit better. Hopefully, all of us will be over this soon! Blessings to you and your family this Christmas!
Unwrapping your heart. What a gift to bring. I love this-I will be sharing!
My first time here. Sure enjoyed this post. It resonates. Speaks truth. Reflects who Jesus really is. Thanks!
So nice to have you drop in for the first time Lisa! Blessings!
That verse from Luke is so powerful. Makes me think about the joy I put in my own heart and think about often. Lovely post!
Joy so often eludes me. I know it’s not dependent on circumstances, but then….it seems so often my joy is dependent on what happening around me. So maybe it’s happiness rather than joy?? I need to figure this joy thing out!!