Expect Joy!

My kids and I chatted about our month of love actions.  They both said, "It was hard." And they were right!  Cole defined it even further, "When you are angry it is very hard to think about love."  Again, he was right.  However, our calling as believers is to be different, and to live out our beliefs regardless of circumstances, but in all that, God also knows we are human.  He created us.  He also created us for joy.

We then discussed the beginning of a new month, while we continue to practice love actions, we are also going to focus on joy.  Immediate joy was visible in their faces, bright eyes, big beautiful smiles (small thanks to orthodontia), a higher position in their seats.  Emma then said, "That will be easy for Cole". 

While I don't see Cole as an overly joyful character, as I examine his daily moments and actions he expects joy.  Cole is very aware of what makes him joyful and what does not and as he has matured he has learned to remove himself from situations that deplete his joy.  As a little guy there was a time when we were at a baby shower, not fun for a 4 year old, and he was acting whiny and wanting to leave, which we were not about to do.  We were at a family member's house, so I gently pulled him to me and asked that he either change his attitude or go lay down in Aunt Nancy's bed and take a little nap.  He made the choice to lay down in the bed.  He was soon fast asleep.  While he only slept for a little while, he was a different person when he woke up.  This habit has continued for him.  When he is in a game of strong-willed, competitive, eight year old boys, I often observe Cole on the fringe, knowing that he does not want to be in the mix but is happy, even joyful, to watch and giggle from the outskirts.  I recently tried to convince Cole to attend a 5th grade pool party that Emma was attending, knowing that he would have a few friends there, but he very calmly said to him, "Mom, you know I don't like big, loud parties."  Cole knows where he experiences joy and tries to be in those places and avoids the others.  I believe that Cole goes into all situations expecting it to be joyful.  He is also careful to remove himself from situations once his joy is zapped.

Psalms 120-134 are songs of ascents.  Each year the Israelites would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the temple for their yearly celebrations.  As they journeyed they would sing these songs of ascents.  As I read through them I was struck by the idea that as they were trudging through the dirt in sandals, carrying heavy water pitchers, maybe leading stinky camels, they were singing with the expectation of the joy they would feel and experience during their celebrations in the temple.  How beautiful! 

Psalm 126:6  'When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream.  Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."  The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.'
I loved this scripture.  I love the idea of dreaming and to have that in the same scripture as joyful shouting was the ultimate happy place for me.  Expectant joy and dreaming are linked in my mind.  Dreaming is something that is hard to take away from someone.  Once a dreamer, always a dreamer.  I think dreamers are expectant of the potential joy in situations.  Are we expectant about the journey we have with the Lord?  The Israelites were joyfully expectant in their tangible journey each year, but we have a journey that we are on and are we singing joyful songs along the way, expecting wonderful things?  Do we look expectantly for what he is going to do each day and take joy in that expectation?  Do we dream about what God could do with and through our journey and our kid's journeys?

We recently planted a garden in our backyard together.  We planted the seeds inside, watched expectantly each day to see when they sprouted, were relieved when they did sprout, coddled and watered them inside, then moved them outside, fended off raccoons, more watering and more waiting.  Now we check each morning and something small is eating the little leaves.  The sprouts are not growing much.  What a bummer!  We did it all right, we labored and toiled and the result has been minimal at best.  I am more devastated than my kids.  The agony of all that waiting and work could make me lose my mind as every morning I go out and see no growth.  But it is a journey and there will be growth, maybe in a different form, maybe from the process my kids learned something, so I need to be expectantly joyful in the journey.  It is similar to our years of tears and toil as a parent, a volunteer, a prayerful friend.  Are we expectantly joyful about the prospect of the ultimate harvest that our toil will produce or are we caught up in the problems and challenges of what is happening now?  Can we take a cue from Cole and remove ourselves, go to the outskirts and look at the bigger picture with joy, cheering on the process and journey, knowing it will end well in the end?  God promises that it will end in a shout of joy!Psalm 126: 6 'He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.'

Even our Almighty took a break to look at what he had done, toiled over, to see that it was good, to examine it with joy.  In Genesis 1:31 he took a break and looked back on his works and I have to believe that in his work he was joyfully expectant of the outcome.  ' God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.'  Genesis 1:31

So, while sometimes we get caught in the toil of the journey, how much better would it be if we were able to help our children develop the ability to travel through their days with expectant joy.  Can we enjoy our journey with the Lord, singing songs of ascent?  With the knowledge that all things work together for good, can that give us some focus from the outskirts, some understanding, some ability to not get caught in the toil, but to move forward expectantly, with joy?
Romans 8:28 'For we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.'  Journey to somewhere expecting joy!  Our family is joyfully expectant of an RV vacation we are embarking on, so we begin our month of joy, joyfully expecting!

By His Grace