As I pulled open the curtains in the dining
room this morning, I could not but break into a comfortable smile as I gazed
upon the scene unfolding before me.
Throughout this last week I have been diligently working on sprucing up
our yards after the long stretch of brown lawns and leaf-less trees this last winter! In looking upon the backyard today, I enjoyed
the freshly mowed and trimmed green lawn, the new Golden Delicious Apple tree I
planted a couple of days ago, the addition of another raised bed garden and the
blades of our new green and yellow windmill as they churned in the gentle
morning breeze.
I stood there a little mesmerized for a few
extended moments as I took in the view.
The sky was blue with a few wisps of clouds and the rising sun was
filtering through the two pine trees on the eastern border of our property. It seemed that all I could see was JOY! As my eyes traversed across the yard it was like everything outside was smiling back at me. If I listened closely I swear that I could
almost hear the trees singing as their top leaves fluttered with the wind.
A few moments later when I raised the front blinds
on the matching windows in our living room, I saw the same exact thing happening
right before my eyes with the front lawn I just mowed yesterday afternoon, the
tall maples and pines that line our western border and with the bright red Double
Knockout rose bush that is in full bloom in front of the porch next to the
Rosemary bush and its tiny purple flowers that the bumble bees like to visit
throughout the spring.
Everywhere
I looked I saw JOY!
Have you ever experienced something like that
before, when you can physically see the definition of a word or expression of
praise, encouragement or optimism? It
reminds me of a segment on the PBS show “The
History Detectives” that we watched last weekend. The program which originally aired from 2003 –
2014 centers around a group of researchers who investigate the authenticity and
history of, as well as attempt to find answers to any personal questions concerning
articles of historic value that are presented to them from individuals all
around the USA.
On this particular segment the group was
looking into a piece of abstract art purchased in a nondescript thrift store
that was thought to have been painted by American musician, composer, activist
and filmmaker Frank Zappa (1940-1993).
While I don’t really know too much about this performer, I was very
familiar with his name due to his popularity during my childhood and young
adulthood. What caught my attention in
the investigation of the art piece was when they interviewed Frank’s wife about
the piece of art.
After examining the painting, she reported that
although she was not familiar with that particular work, it did remind her of
the sketches that her husband would draw when composing songs. She stated that it was the way that he saw music. Many times, he would sit down and draw an
abstract picture of the song that was formulating in his mind and then would write the song from the
painting! … And that’s exactly what I experienced
this morning when I opened up our drapes!
I vividly saw the JOY of the Lord as a live-stream
painting displayed before my eyes! WOW!
Later on, when I opened my Bible up to
Philippians 4:4, I couldn’t help but laugh as God’s vivid picture of JOY unfolded
before me. The Voice translation states:
“Most of all friends, always rejoice in
the Lord! I never tire of saying it:
Rejoice!” The God’s Word © version
says to be joyful or put another way, to be “full
of JOY!”
When I read that command I can’t help but think
that Papa God is talking about a state of mind that He wants all Christians to
have! The next verse in The Voice translation
gets a little more interesting as it continues the thought from the previous
scripture declaring: “Keep your gentle
nature so that all people may know what it looks
like to walk in His footsteps. (for)
The Lord is ever present with us.” (Philippians 4:5)
That particular transition from verse four to
five makes it pretty clear… at least to
me… that Paul is directly associating our regular mind set of JOY
with having a gentle nature from
which people around us can get an accurate picture of what it is like to walk
in Christ’s footsteps! It would seem
that JOY
therefore, is the catalyst for a gentle, “moderate, mild, or tender temperament.” (Oxford Online
dictionaries)
I admit that I had a special bounce in my step
as I went in to get my wife up after what I saw happening outside around our
property first thing today. I think that
she picked it up right away as she opened he eyes wide and looked right into mine. We’ve always tended to have a serendipity of
hearts and minds when it comes to JOY.
From day one we always found it easy to laugh and smile when we are
together. His JOY has been one of the
bonding and foundational rocks in our union throughout all the great times and
the not so great times.
We’ve always seemed to feed off each other’s sense
of humor, laughter and all-around JOY of heart! Even today, in the midst of this disease that
is attempting to ravish my wife’s body, I still find myself laughing at some of the hard
but yet… in a weird sense, funny
situations I find us in as I care for her personal needs. There are times that she will get the funniest
look on her face when I am talking to her or helping her to partake of her meals. It is like she still continues to find
opportunities to release the JOY that is deeply set inside of her…
even though she cannot communicate in a
normal sense right now. It is just
who she is, because it is a state of mind that she purposely developed every
day of her life!
I believe that she is a physical picture and application of Paul’s command to us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” (KJV)
…and you know… She NEVER tires of living it: So “Rejoice!”
Well… I choose to keep following her good
example! How about you?
Have a super-duper, full of JOY
weekend! … and as you do, keep asking
yourself… “How much am I expecting to REJOICE today?”
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