How do you create joy?
I saw rain drops on my window, joy is like the rain
“Joy is Like the Rain”J
Laughter runs across my pane, slips away and comes again
Joy is like the rain
I saw clouds upon a mountain, joy is like a cloud
Sometimes silver, sometimes gray, always sun not far away
Joy is like a cloud
I saw Christ in wind and thunder, joy is tried by storm
Christ asleep within my boat, whipped by wind, yet still afloat
Joy is tried by storm
I saw rain drops on a river, Joy is like the rain
Bit by bit the river grows, till all at once it overflows
Joy is like the rain
Those of you of a certain age will probably remember this song from 1966 entitled “Joy is Like the Rain.” It was written and performed by the Medical Mission Sisters and is part of the genre of liturgical music that came out in the years following the Second Vatican Council.
This third week of Advent initiated with Gaudete (or “joy”) Sunday marks the half-way point to Christmas, although this year the fourth week is truncated by how Advent falls in the calendar.
While the song is trite and “sing-songy” (you can listen to it on YouTube), it does invite us to reflect upon the question, “What brings you joy?” In these last few days before the Christmas season, how do you find and maintain a joyful spirit?
As one who seems to have a hundred things going on at once, I find it difficult to pause and reflect on what gives me peace and joy. I certainly do not find joy in rain or clouds or storms or rivers, like the song says. But perhaps I need to slow down and give thanks for those events or people who enliven my spirit and give me joy and invite me to see the happier side of life.
This week can tend to be hectic and chaotic; but it can also be joy-filled if we deliberately choose to find joy in our lives. So what brings you joy? How do you find it? Or perhaps more accurately, how do you create joy?