You are my joy
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3
I remember as a child how easy joy came for me. My dad even nicknamed me Skippy, embarrassingly enough, at one point because I went through a phase where I skipped everywhere. Sadly, It was a short phase.
Until about the age of eleven, I think my biggest fears were flying bugs and getting into trouble at school. And whether it was the annoying fly at the barbecue that wouldn’t leave me alone and caused me to jump up landing my hamburger in the mouth of my friend's dog or one of the horrible ideas I would come up with at school when I was bored like painting on a wall with mud at recess, I had to face both fears more times than I would have liked to. I always recovered quickly from these incidences, though, and never allowed them to steal my joy.
Looking back, I wonder when Joy became something I had to think about, and even pray for? When did I start letting this world weigh me down? When did Fear become a closer friend to me than Joy, and Why? Was it the disapproval of certain peers? The tragic loss of several loved ones within a short time period? The involvement in legalistic religion? The constant desire to be more than I am, and the disappointment of where I am at? The realization of the brokenness of humanity and the world?
The last few years I have struggled with the poverty and injustice of this world. I have struggled with trusting God, his goodness, his plan for redemption, and his Kingdom. Having grown up being told my purpose was to “glorify God and enjoy him forever,” I wondered how could I glorify and enjoy a god whose creation seemed hopeless and forgotten. How can I be joyful knowing this very minute there is a child being sold to have sex or knowing every thirty seconds a child dies of hunger? How can I have joy when people in my own community are dying of poverty: physical poverty, spiritual poverty, and relational poverty? How do you have Joy amongst so much suffering? ...
* As I was looking for an image of someone skipping I came across an awesome website: iskip an online community of people who "believe that skipping is a simple, yet powerful way to make our communities happier and healthier places and that the world will be a much better place with more skippers on the streets." These are my kind of people! They even list the benefits of skipping you should check it out and think about skipping to wherever you are going next. It will bring you joy! : )
