About Being Full of Joy
Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:
share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.
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In high school, my friend Josh told me “You take everything as a compliment.” I thanked him cheerfully. This Easter weekend, my Word for the Week was “fullness of joys in your presence" from Psalm 16:11. Since Joy is my middle name, I took it personally! :) So what is God calling me to do about it?
I’ve been inspired to be particularly grateful for the joys of daily life; to embrace an interior sense of wellbeing in specific moments and to lift my heart to God in real time. There have been too many of these joys to list, between quiet bedtime rituals with the kids, late-night walks with David, and hilarious video chats with friends and colleagues. One joy that’s too ironic not to share has to do with inadvertently achieving a life-long goal.
On Easter Monday, I told my mom over the phone, “I’ve accomplished all of my dreams*! Checked off all of the goals that I had for myself. I’m just...happy.” I acknowledged that there were some goals I’d dropped, however. The example I gave was that of winning a Grammy: once I learned the amount of networking that would substantiate that kind of attention in the music industry, it lost its appeal for me.
The same Monday afternoon of the phone call with my mom, David and I received an email to congratulate us on being approved for a grant through the MusiCares COVID-19 relief fund. For the record, this fund is also co-organized by the same Recording Academy that determines the winners of the Grammy Awards.
As a kid, what I wanted was recognition from the Academy on my professionalism and musical success. I let that dream go in favor of a stronger dream of having a quiet and peaceful home life. But then, in the midst of this pandemic, what do I get: recognition from the Academy on my professionalism and musical success, in a way that directly supports our family life!
Wow. Wow. Wow. This is one example of how I’ve felt God’s presence in the specific joys of this Easter season. But just as the apostles (including Mary Magdalene, “Apostle to the Apostles”) received the startling news of the resurrection in many different ways, we’re all processing joy differently this Easter.
Whether your joys look as full as a full-term pregnancy (see this pic from 2014 as an example) or whether your joys feel as empty as the tomb on Easter morning, or whether you’re somewhere in between, this is a season for celebration! "Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." -Romans 8:34
Jesus Himself, who not only died for us but rose to bring us new life, is rooting** for us!*This was an exaggeration. I still have some dreams left, such as singing for the Detroit Tigers, preferably through the Archdiocese of Detroit.
**Rooting, interceding. Those are synonyms, right?
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