Joy
I have been fortunate to visit the Community of St. Mary on multiple occasions. It’s an Episcopal Convent just outside Sewanee, Tennessee where Interyear takes our fall retreat. During this retreat, we have the opportunity to participate in the rhythm of life that the sisters live out faithfully, season after season. The purpose of this time is to help the Fellows begin to walk through the process of writing out a rule of life, a disciplined, holistic approach to orienting one’s life toward God.
On this particular visit, however, I was not feeling well at all. Everyone had recently been taking turns with a head cold of sorts and it hit me full force on our way down to Sewanee. With such a large group this year, I didn’t stay in the convent guest rooms, but in a small hermitage just a little way down the path from the convent. As I walked out to the hermitage that first night, I was shivering with a fever and crawled into bed early in the hopes of sleeping it off.
I woke up early the next morning feeling much better though not fully restored. I brewed some coffee and sat in a rocking chair in the sitting room and watched the sunrise through the trees. This photo was the view from the room and you’ll notice that the sun is peeking just above the horizon, but below where two trees cross one another. The effect makes it look like the sun is shining through the tree.
As I reflect on this image and the theme of the third Sunday of Advent, it reminds me of the way joy works. It requires a different kind of sight. Sometimes finding joy in difficult situations might be challenging or feel impossible. We need our perspective to shift, to invite God into our midst so that we might be able to see the beauty of the situation. For many of us, that doesn’t come naturally and we need others to help guide and teach us how to view things in this way. We might be hurting, afraid, or feeling some other emotion that prevents us from seeing the joy, but it is there and it can be found.
In order to get that photo of the sunrise through the trees just right, I had to move around a bit. My first attempt at the photo was just of the sunrise next to the trees, but as I took some time to shift and change my point of view, I was able to capture something completely different. I was moved by the way the sun seemed to pierce through the tree despite being blocked.
I hope that throughout this week you’ll be able to find joy in these simple ways. I am reminded of a quote from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin who said, “Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” As we anticipate God coming in the person of Jesus Christ, may we remember that God’s presence is always here with us. In those simple moments of joy, my prayer is that you know God is truly here with you.
Where are you finding those moments of great joy this Advent season? How have you had to change your perspective in order to find it?