Surprised by Joy!
Have you ever been surprised by joy? Sometimes you find joy when you aren’t looking for it.
Last weekend I attended to a Neil Diamond Tribute performance. After ending with a rousing rendition of “Sweet Caroline” replete with people in the audience standing up and singing along (who can not sing along when this song is played?) I entered a crowded elevator and thought, “let’s continue the fun.” So, I struck up the first two words of the song anticipating that soon everyone in the elevator would join in. Much to my surprise I was left the sole person singing.
How come when people do this in movies everyone joins in? I’ve tried this before with no luck, including hoping to get people in line at a grocery check-out to join in singing along with the radio to the classic Nancy Sinatra hit, “These Boots are Made for Walking,” and another time to the Dione Warwick song featured in My Best Friend’s Wedding, “I Say a Little Prayer for You.” Again, how can anyone resist singing along to these songs? But apparently most people can.
When I mentioned this to my husband (he had opted to take the stairs rather than the crowded elevator so he had missed my embarrassment) he simply said some people aren’t comfortable singing. My response, “But it brings me such joy. How can anyone not sing, even if they are not any good at it? Especially as we get older. What keeps us from singing, and dancing?”
Surprised by Joy!
C.S. Lewis, in his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, recounts his journey from atheist to a believer. At the end of this journey, he was surprised by the joy he discovered once he accepted God. Later he was surprised again by Joy, when Joy Davidman came into his staunch bachelor life and turned it upside down for good.
I found joy in the music of Neil Diamond. I also found joy in the fact that it was my husband who had suggested we go to this concert. No big fan of Neil Diamond, when the local PBS station had featured selections from Neil Diamond concerts a while back, my husband had listened to two songs and had enough. Because of this I never gave any thought to going to this concert.
“But I thought you didn’t care for Neil Diamond?”
“But you do,” he stated. And so, we purchased the tickets.
I was surprised to realize how much Christianity undergirded so much of his music. This was the first time I heard his version of Amazing Grace. And of course, there was “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show.” But even more was the uplifting nature of the songs. Songs about love and human nature that upheld the goodness of life, something I definitely needed with all of the uncertainty in the world.
Other Sources of Joy
When I sat down with my morning coffee after the concert another source of joy appeared, the sunrise. Again, I was filled with joy. Joy from music, from my husband’s thoughtfulness, and the beauty of God all around me.
And then my grandsons’ basketball game later this week where baskets produced elation and smiles from the participants from the mere joy of playing the game. This filled my heart with joy.
Part of the beauty of this joy is that it is not dependent on everything going my way or feelings of happiness. Joy is. It can be present during the darkest times. Joy is the irrepressible presence of God in our life, in our world. It comes unbidden when we least expect it, yet if we look around it is everywhere.
Again, I ask, have you been surprised by joy? If not, maybe you are looking in the wrong places. Look inside yourself to that fountain of truth, the God within. Gaze outside yourself to your loved ones and the wonders of nature, the God without. Look for God and find joy.
What brings you joy?
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
(Please note – in order to help ensure you receive email with link to new book, please add my email, patricia@patriciamrobertson.com to your contact list. Some servers are quick to send newsletters to spam or other boxes.)
Leave a Reply