Rejoice
On this third Sunday in Advent is a
time of joy, so rejoice! As it says in Isaiah:
“The
wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and
blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy
and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel
and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.
"Strengthen
the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a
fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come
with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you."
"Then
the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then
the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the
desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground
springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall
become reeds and rushes.
"A
highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall
not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even
fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous
beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk
there.
"And
the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
As
we rush or are being pushed to rush towards Christmas, it is on this Sunday
that we are reminded to rejoice.
How
often DO we rejoice? How often do we ALLOW ourselves to be joyful?
I
have to admit that I am constantly rushing. I seem to always be on the
move. I must to this. I must get to that. It NEEDS to be
done.
Where
is there time to rejoice and find joy?
I
was determined that today, this Sunday of Joy, I would find it. It meant
changing plans. It meant doing things a little differently. It
meant a little extra work, but it was worth it.
Instead
of the typical Sunday, my family and I got into the car on Sunday morning and
drove to a place where we find joy. A place where I can find peace and
focus on the joy of family and nature; even if it was for just a few hours...
So
I drove from our home in NJ to Skytop, PA. Where for a few precious hours
we sat by the fire and walked the grounds. (Although it was much too
windy to do all the hiking I had hoped we might be able to.) We were
greeted in the parking lot by Robert, a bellman, who knows us by sight and
greeted us with...Joy. And before we left he shared with us the joyous
news of the birth of his first grandchild. How blessed are we to be able
to be part of his joy on this day. Something we would not have
experienced if I did not make the decision to switch up the typical Sunday
business and allow joy to flow.
I
may be back home now...in the "real" world. I may have let some
of the joy seep out of me as I prepared for a stressful work week. But
today I had joy. I rejoice in that. And so should you.
Take
time to rejoice. Take time to find joy in places around you where you
might least expect it. Be strong, do not fear! Find joy and REJOICE!
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