Rejoice!
(The word of the Lord, Thanks be to God!)
We tend to favor certain emotions rather than others, and so we get much of life backward. William Butler Yeats hit the nail on the head and says it so well, "Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy."
The longer version of that verse from Philippians is "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice." There is much wisdom here. As we are nearer and nearer to the fulfillment of God's promise at Christmas, joy percolates up from within, and we may even (in temporary periods of joy) feel like our insides are fluttering, much like the child in this picture.
What is the joy all about? It's about being captured in the mystery of God born to this world, the mystery that I believe to the point that it's the most real reality I know, the mystery that you share it with me, and the mystery that others around you are about to be captured as well.
May your life mature into the joy of God through Jesus so that you can now live right side up, saying "being (insert nationality or heritage), s/he had an abiding sense of joy, which sustained her/him through temporary periods of tragedy."
pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ontario Oregon
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