Choosing Joy

Have you put up your Christmas decorations yet? Yes, I know it is only November 11, and yes, I know Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet.

Until a few years ago, when our oldest went to college, we always put up our decorations the first weekend in November. Since we still want to include him, it tends to happen closer to Thanksgiving these days.

But my friends and family know all about my love for Christmas, and I like to think I've impacted them a little over the years. This past week I received several messages from friends all over who have started decorating or listening to Christmas music or both.

You might be wondering why I decorate so early. It all started when I worked at a university years ago. The students would go home for Christmas break early in December, so decorating our offices for only two weeks didn't make sense. Instead, we'd decorate at the beginning of November to bring some light and joy into the end of the semester. I loved having the tree up in the office, which carried over to our home.

Then, I worked as a children's pastor for years, and we would host a Christmas party for our team in our home. The first year, we had that party in December, and everyone's schedule was so busy with events that it felt like an added stressor to add in another party. So, we started hosting our party before Thanksgiving. Everyone could enjoy the time together because the Christmas festivities weren't yet underway.

The reasons have changed over the years, but during a season of the year when the time changes and the nights grow darker, we love having the lights of the tree illuminating our home.

When we think about Christian spiritual formation, joy and celebration are sometimes overlooked. We seem to only focus on what we think are the serious things and forget that joy is also an essential part of our formation.

For as long as this version of Earth exists, there will continue to be hard and heavy things happening around us.

But I think there is an invitation for us to embrace the joy, the laughter, and the light. In doing so, we are better able to combat the darkness.

Evil does not get the final word. Jesus does. Darkness does not win. Light does. One day, everything will be made new, and all that is broken will be renewed.  

But right now, in these days, we are to be reflections of Jesus here and now. Love, joy, and laughter are part of the way we can shine light into the darkness. They are a part of how we can keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when things around us feel heavy.

So maybe you want to put up your Christmas tree this week. Great! Maybe you want to start watching Christmas movies. Perfect. Maybe you want to throw a party or gather with your community in some way. Love it! Maybe you want to gather some friends to go to a movie, or to read a book together, or to make s'mores around a fire. Do it. Maybe you want to jump into leaf piles or build a snowman, depending on where you live. Go for it!

How can you choose joy this week? How might it help you be a source of light in the darkness? What might joy change inside of you?  

~  Melissa