I'VE GOT THE JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY

Oh my goodness!  For a reason unknown to me I have been trying since September to access my blog, without success.  But today, with the help of my WONDERFUL husband, I am finally back!  I’m so thankful!

It has been a whirlwind of a month, and we still have two and half weeks to go!  In early December I had to have an angiogram for a possible blockage in my heart.  With heart problems on both sides of my family, and a younger brother who had a heart attack, this caused a bit of anxiety.  However, the test was false positive!  Rejoicing all around!

Then, just this week we were hit with a family problem which has disappointed and upset us and increased all our anxiety levels.  It’s not likely to be over quickly either, so the forecast is still - angst ahead. 

In response to a request for prayer which I sent out this week, a friend replied, “Don’t let this rob you of the joy of anticipating the birth of Emmanuel – ‘God with us’”. 

Even when things are not going the way we wish, even though there is anxiety and stress – we can still experience the joy of the Lord, which is our strength, and I certainly want to do that at this sacred time of year.  Despite the stresses of the month so far, joy also abounds!

On Tuesday of this week, after I taught my last lesson in a 10 week-long series on the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob, from the book of Genesis, one of the women attending spoke to me.  Her words were, “I wanted you to know that the study of Joseph has profoundly changed my life.”   On that day I had graciously received a gift card, a candle, and a cross to hang on my wall – but it was THAT gift that filled this teacher’s heart with joy.  Transformed hearts is what Bible teaching is all about, so when it happens, all those hours of preparation for teaching feel so worthwhile.  Transformed hearts bring me great joy!

After class I went to visit one of my hospice patients (I’m a hospice volunteer).  My patient was sound asleep and remained that way through my entire visit, despite my gentle efforts to wake her.  However, she happened to be sitting right next to a 7 foot, decorated Christmas tree, in the nursing home where she lives, which gave the room such a festive air.  Gathered around her were a half dozen or so other residents in various states of memory loss, simply sitting and staring. 

As it happened, the lady I sat next to was clapping and humming to an old song from the post war days that I remember my mom singing.  So, I began to sing what I remembered of the words and noticed that others in the crowd of previously almost catatonic residents had begun to tap their feet, hum, or wave their arms to the music. 

With this suddenly very attentive audience, we began an impromptu sing-along of seasonal favorites.  

What a blessing it was to see people who just a moment before seemed totally disengaged with the activity around them, suddenly perk up.  We had a blast and I found my heart FULL of the joy of the season, the joy of showing the love of Jesus to these folks, and the joy of watching music bring them to life.  It was a sweet moment of celebration.

Then it was Wednesday.  Usually on a Wednesday morning I can be found at my town library meeting with four lovely foreign ladies who are my “English as a Second Language” (ESL) students.  But last Wednesday we had decided that instead of our usual meeting, we would drive together to a church in a neighboring town for a Christmas concert in which two of our group were singing.  The music was wonderful! 

The biggest blessing for me, other than being with my students, was to hear carols so familiar to me sung in Japanese.  I couldn’t help but think of heaven, when all believers in Jesus – from every tongue and nation - will sing His praises together.  I don’t know if we’ll retain a knowledge of our earthly languages, but it just might be that we’ll have the thrill of singing the same praise songs, in beautiful harmony – each in our own earthly tongue.  What a sound that would make!  Joy, joy and more joy!

Later that afternoon I had the blessing of having tea with another friend.  Elizabeth is from Kenya.  She left two sons back home so that she could come to the US to make more money than she could make in Kenya and send her boys to university.  Elizabeth is the home care aide for another of my hospice patients.  Early on we discovered that we both love Jesus – instant friendship!  We had a lovely time learning more about one another and praying together, her black hands entwined with my white ones.  Another taste of heaven – and fullness of joy!

Then yesterday, Friday, I hosted a Christmas brunch for my ESL students.  I try to have a brunch every 4-6 weeks in my home as an opportunity for us to enjoy one another’s company in a less formal setting.  Since everyone contributes food, we can also sample foods familiar and not so familiar.  Lots of conversation is generated over a table laden with food.  We look forward to these brunches like little girls anticipating a tea party! 

This time I planned a surprise.  In addition to my ESL students, I also invited 6 of my own American friends to join us, but I didn’t tell my students.  I knew they would be terrified!  The instructions I gave my friends was to speak slowly, ask questions, talk less and listen more, in order to give my ESL students a chance to use their English.  What a wonderful morning it proved to be as the conversation, interspersed with laughter, flew back and forth across the tables!

Once again I found myself full of joy, praising the Lord for putting it into my heart to volunteer to be an ESL tutor.  I know that all I’m doing to help my students become more adept at English is blessing them because they tell me, and I can actually see the improvement in their confidence level. 

What has really blown me away though, is the HUGE blessing I receive!  These lovely women have added so much richness to my life with their sweetness and kindness.  Our relationship together is about so much more than just tutor and students.  They share the concerns of their mothers’ hearts, the warmth of their friendship, and their challenges of living here in the United States with me.  For my part, I not only help them with English, I serve as a kind of surrogate mother, cheerleader, and friend.

So, while this month had a little more than its share of angst, my cup is overflowing with gratitude to my Lord for all the ways in which He has filled me with His joy.

Someone once said that happiness comes from happenings and I’ve had plenty of delightful happenings to bring me happiness this week.  However, there is something so much better than happiness, something deeper that fills my heart when happy happenings are hard to find – and that “something” is the joy of the Lord.  I can have that any and every time – even in the anxious ones – when I think about Jesus and all the ways in which He’s blessed me.