Joy Part Five

 

This week we’ve been speaking about joy;

Planning, plotting, playing, and creating a ploy;

Seeing the beauty in life like a child with a toy;

Trying to cultivate delight rather than being coy.

 

And yet, if we are honest, sometimes joy annoys.

We are befuddled by this word, not knowing how to deploy.

Unsure that our ways or thoughts or actions really employ.

And we are suspicious that sometimes the joy is a decoy.

 

So inside we let our inner Scrooge or Grinch destroy.

We find ways to defer or deflect; rather than enjoy.

Or we think that joy is not the real McCoy.

Or maybe it will be better if we all move to Illinois.

 

(Seriously, who knew that “joy” was so hard to find words that rhyme?!?)

 

It is my prayer that my amateur poetry today brought you joy, made you laugh, or think, “Don’t quit your day job!” Or maybe the words above awoke your inner Dr. Suess to improve on my effort.  Most of all, I pray for joy to surround you, sustain you, feed and fuel you as we continue to make our way toward Bethlehem and where joy is discovered in a dirty, drafty stable.  Because if God can find joy in that place, surely you and I might be able to do the same here and now.  Amen.