Sometimes things just come together at the same time. After a long process and several delays as we tried to get subcontractors lined up in the proper order, our new whole-building generator was finally installed and ready to go about two weeks ago. Then, we finally switched the internet to fiber, which will give us greater reliability, speed, and save us money – oh. It will also be much more likely to work when more traditional internet providers go down due to power outages after storms. That also meant we could get a new phone system. While our old system wasn’t old, it was a requirement as we switched to fiber, but the new system is better than what we had been using, so it’s a welcome change, nonetheless.
Sometimes the hard or bad things come together, so I’ll take the good stuff any day. It’s kind of strange, though, how things go in cycles. One bad experience can lead to another one. One good experience might open up an opportunity for a second. Maybe it’s the pay-it-forward effect? I’m more likely to let someone out in traffic when someone has let me out. When others have been aggressive and I’ve had to “make a hole” to pull out, I’m less charitable for the car at the stop sign, hoping I’ll be kind and flash my lights to let them in. It’s also possible that our mood dictates what we pay attention to.
I think that’s why I love the new Annual Fund theme, chosen by the committee for this year’s pledge campaign: Joy in our hearts. Some days, I have to think for a minute to decide what gives me joy. Especially when I’m tired from overwork, grieving because someone has died, or just sick of a stream of bad news or fires to put out. At other times, when there has been good news, like a birth, or a meaningful recovery for someone, or a project comes to completion in unexpected and lovely ways, the joy is on the tip of my tongue. But, if given the space and time, I can usually point to joy in my life. Too bad I don’t do it all the time.
As we think through this theme and remember the joy that comes from the love of Jesus above all else, I think it’s an excellent opportunity to practice seeing the joy there all the time. It’s a habit we can develop. It’s a choice to find and claim that joy, and then to give proper thanks to God for making it possible. In the same way, it’s a choice to get lost in bad news and doomscrolling through life. Plenty of people get paid to share or create bad news, even though we don’t usually need help in that category. So, where is the joy in your life, and does it help you touch base with the joy of Christ in your heart? Where are the ways that you can share that joy with others? We get to consider these questions in this season, in which we take stock of our blessings and God’s abundance. Sing it with me, “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart!”
