Joy on the Journey - Guest Blog by Marilyn Quigley
Six months into our COVID summer, it’s time for some practical advice on how to receive the joy God designed us to experience in spite of our circumstances..
Don't search for joy itself. Trying to capture joy can make it flit away. A Chinese proverb says, “If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.” What is that green bough in the heart? It's the presence of God. King David understood that: “You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence. You always give me sheer delight.” (Psalm 16:11) By nurturing the awareness of God and adhering to His laws, we lay the foundation for lasting joy.
Serve others regularly. Rabindranath Tagore said, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” We can easily find a person in need of something we can provide—a ride to the doctor, an hour of conversation or playing a game, a meal. God has designed serving others to result in personal joy.
Show gratitude. “Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” (Marianne Williamson) The Psalmist says, “Then I will go to the altar of God, to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, so that I express my thanks to you, O God...” (Psalm 43: 4)
Drop the pebble to the ground. When you shut one eye and hold a small rock in front of your other eye, you'll see hardly anything besides the rock. Drop it and observe how small it seems in perspective. Do we find ourselves constantly holding rocks before our eyes and wondering why we have little joy?
Forgive and ask forgiveness. In fighting for space in our hearts, a grudge will win out over joy every time. We must let the light of the Word search the corners of our heart for lack of forgiveness. Using a spiritual broom of repentance can make us right with God and allow the joy of our salvation to return.
Nurture your relationships. The word “nurture” means that I myself must often take the initiative to contact people. I can't just wait for my phone to ring or a text to come in. Mark Twain said, “To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” That's an interesting concept—to have ALL the joy possible, I must divide with someone whose friendship I have nurtured.
Create something. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” Your heavenly Father is the great creator. You are made in His image, so make something—anything—and experience joy. Here's a partial list of things my Bible study members make: raspberry jam, needlepoints, movies of grandchildren's visits, scrapbooks, music, decorative crafts, pillows, delicious food. God Himself took joy in his creation, pronouncing it “good.”
Speaking of nature, get outside as often as possible. God placed the first humans in a garden, after all. Psalm 65: 8 and 13 show creation itself as being joyful before its Creator: “Thou dost make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. The meadows...and the valleys...they shout for joy, yes, they sing.” Studies show that being outdoors even for a short time reduces anxiety and stress—two things that inhibit joy.
Keep something on your calendar to look forward to. Organize a trip with some friends. Attend a (socially distanced) event—a concert, a play, a deck party, a park gathering. Or make a date with yourself at an outdoor restaurant, where you can discover the joy of your own companionship in reading or playing a game while eating pancakes someone else made.
Live in the small moments, and find joy in the ordinary. Roll down the car windows on a beautiful day for a slow drive in the country. Or savor the taste of that Clementine Cutie as you think about your God who must have enjoyed inventing that flavor. Go to a park and watch the kids playing. It's the small tykes who show us how to find joy in small things. King Solomon says that something as small as a bright look--a smile--brings joy to the heart. (Proverbs 15:30)
Finally, remember the phrase Joy in the Journey. Joy is as often IN the journey as finishing it. Reaching your goal may be wonderful, but some of the happiness came in the events along the way. As you look back, you realize singing birds alighted in your heart when you weren't expecting them.
God is a joy giver. But we can't expect Him to drop it in our laps. More often than not joy arrives through personal efforts--effort at godliness, service, gratitude, perspective, forgiveness, friendships, creativity, nature, planning, and small things noticed.
And when the dark nights come, believe the truth of God's Word, that joy comes in the morning.
Marilyn Quigley is a Christian, a wife to one man for over 50 years, mother of two grown sons, and “Nana” to three grandchildren. She taught public high school for 5 years and was a professor of English at Evangel University for 32 years, creative writing and composition being the courses she most loved to teach. Marilyn has published 2 books (Hell Frozen Over: The Battle of the Bulge and Journey to Elsewhere, a time-travel novel for kids 9-13). She loves to read historical novels, devotional pieces, and the Wall Street Journal every morning with her coffee (however not the stock report section—that is “Greek” to her). She coordinates a Bible study of 12 ladies. Marilyn recently began a Facebook Page/Blog with the title of her kids’ book. She and her artist husband, Ed, often spend their time watching historical movies, listening to music, and talking on FaceTime with their grandchildren in Virginia. You can access her blog with this link: https://www.facebook.com/MLQuig/ You can also follow her by liking her Facebook Page, “Journey to Elsewhere”.
