On my desk, I have a cut-glass vase housing bright yellow daffodils and two small but pungent purple hyacinths. All from my garden, which suddenly came into bloom during a warm spell last week.
A few days of warm weather (along with plenty of rain) turned the grass from faded yellow to bright green, pushed the bulbs I planted last fall to bloom, and brought all of us out into the sun to play.
Play may not seem like a spiritual practice, but it is an essential one, if we are to obey the commands of Scripture: Rejoice in the Lord always! The joy of the Lord is your strength!
“Joy is God’s basic character,” John Ortberg writes. “Joy is his eternal destiny. God is the happiest being in the universe. … As products of God’s creation, creatures made in his image, we are to reflect God’s fierce joy in life.”
How? I think joy is cultivated by engaging in good, clean, fun—the practice of celebration.
Deuteronomy 16 spells out the various feasts and celebrations that the nation of Israel was to keep. In that chapter, God commands his people to celebrate, and to include everyone in the festivities. “Be joyful at your feast,” the text says, commanding us not only to be joyful but also to be inclusive, as it goes on to say: “—you, your sons and daughters, your men-servants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your town… and your joy will be complete.” (vs. 14,15)
Notice that servants and heirs are to celebrate together, religious leaders and the poor are to gather. Celebration is not only for those who can afford it, but for everyone. In this practice, we can hear echoes of the Jubilee, if we listen closely.
Richard Foster, in his classic book Celebration of Discipline, “Celebration is central to all the spiritual Disciplines. Without a joyful spirit of festivity the Disciplines become dull, death-breathing tools in the hands of modern day Pharisees. … Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Often I am inclined to think that joy is the motor, the thing that keeps everything else going. Without joyous celebration to infuse the other Disciplines, we will sooner or later abandon them. Joy produces energy. Joy makes us strong.” (Celebration of Discipline, San Francisco: Harper & Row. 1978, p. 191)
Joy is the motor of all other practices: prayer, meditation, worship, solitude, giving, even fasting.
Foster gives several suggestions on bringing joy into your life, on how to engage in this discipline of celebration. One that he mentions is “relish the creativity of others.”
As a children’s ministry leader, you have the opportunity to do this all the time. You can learn from those you lead about how to simply have fun, to celebrate and enjoy the gift of life.
This month, think about how you can create opportunities for the children you minister to be creative. How can they engage with you—now that you’re done with the big Easter services—on other Sundays? Rather than trying to entertain those you minister to, allow them to be participants—and then enjoy God with them.
Jump out of the routine we all get in—when we see ourselves only as teachers. Instead, take some time to learn from the children you minister to.
Another way to increase joy is to live in the moment. A huge joy stealer is thinking that we’ll finally be happy once we achieve a certain goal. We forfeit our chance to be happy right now.
Last week in the three-year-old room, I sat in the book corner and read to a few children. One little boy, Ryan, selected Bob & Larry’s ABC’s, featuring the Veggie Tales characters. I think it began with A is for Asparagus or something, working its way through the alphabet with various Veggie characters.
On a page further on, it had a picture of a potato wearing underwear. When I read that page, little Ryan and I looked at each other with mock surprise, and then he laughed one long, loud “HAAA!”
He made me read the book four or five times, and each time we got to that crazy potato, we looked at each other and laughed. It was a simple thing, just laughing, reading again and again. While I got a bit tired of reading the same book, I never tired of Ryan’s goofy laugh and his expression of joy at being silly. Rather than thinking “when can I stop reading this book—then I’ll have fun,” I just tried to enjoy the moment.
What brings you joy? Is it music? Dancing? Walking outside in the warm spring air? Spending time with an old friend? Enjoying a meal with your family?
As spring approaches, deliberately seek out activities that bring you joy. Go for a walk and notice the birds, the flowers, the people. Have a real feast for Easter, and invite everyone—even people who you might not typically include.
Allow the contagious laughter of the children you lead to infect your soul. Reflect the image of God, who is, after all, the most joyful being in the universe.
Keri Wyatt Kent is an author, speaker and Promiseland volunteer. Learn more about her ministry at www.keriwyattkent.com
Copyright © 2007 Promiseland.
