Celebrate Joy

I was blessed to be able to travel abroad this past month – soaking in the sunshine, history, architecture and culture. On trips like this, I always expect the unexpected – I’m primed for it – as it is part of the journey. But I admit to being caught off guard this time – by joy.

Not my joy – but the shared joy we stumbled upon one dusty afternoon in a small village, when a loud sudden uproar around the corner jolted us – definitely the happy roar of hundreds of people. We hurried around the corner, to see the grand steps of an ancient church on the square, with a wedding party in a large circle embracing a bride and groom to the chorus of those cheers. My first thought was that this was a really large wedding to have so many people making such an uproar. Until I realized that it was not the wedding party cheering. It was every resident and tourist who had been happening by – stopped to join the moment of celebration with smiles and cheers and applause.

Weddings seemed to be everywhere – closed church doors, with baskets of flowers around the entry, a gleaming vintage convertible waiting, and a patient crowd forming. Cheers, applause and tolling church bells filled each public square, as each new couple stepped out of the church and was welcomed to the community. It was easy to join the waiting crowd when we saw the tell-tale signs – and to join in the cheers and applause. Love and joy out loud – worth stopping for.

We don’t have the walking streets and squares of Europe. It is harder to stumble across community here – to be swept away in an unexpected celebration of joy. But it is moments of joy that fuel our ability to move through the difficult moments we are confronted with. They are the essential balance we must find, or create, for ourselves, friends and those we love. So - go cheer for your team. Celebrate a moment you might have let pass by. Dig up every moment of joy you can find – to fuel the strength to power through the more difficult moments that arrive on their own.

Because Joy is the Point. The pursuit of joy for all, sharing it when it arrives, and the peace of a heart filled with that joy. God’s love raining down on us made visible.

Thank you, God, for all the joy we find in our lives, and all the ways you make your love for us so evident through each small blessing we find around us every day.

Diana is a founding member of Peace Church and is thankful for so many blessings in her life – and is currently cheering for them all! Among those blessings is Peace Church, and all the joyful and meaningful Sundays that have come with it.