Surprised by Joy?

Henri Nouwen writes: "The world in which we live wants to suprise us by sorrow. Newspapers keep telling us about traffic accidents, murders, conflicts between individuals, groups and nations and the television fills our minds with images of hatred, violence and destruction. And we say to one another: "Did you hear that, did you see that.......isn't it terrible....who can believe it? Indeed it seems the powers of darkness want to continue to surprise us with human sorrow. But, these surprises paralyze us and seduce us to an existence in which our main concern becomes survival in the midst of a sea of sorrows. By making us think about ourselves as survivors of a shipwreck, anxiously clinging to a piece of driftwood, we gradually accept the role of victims, doomed by the cruel circumstances of our lives."

"The greatest challenge of faith is to be surprised by joy."

Have you ever been involved in a heated discussion on the "ills" of this world only to be interupted by a child who is anxiously excited to share something with you? Have you ever been feeling down in the doldrums, when all of a sudden something occurs that snaps you back into a more positive frame of mind that puts your negative thinking state into perspective?

When was the last time you were surprised by joy? This was the example the leapt to mind when I first read the excerpt:

Last week, my family and I went with another family to a local provinical park that has a nice beachy area for swimming and a boat launch right by it. Our friends brought their little outboard boat for tubing. It had been a typically hot busy summer Saturday jammed with weekend errands and chores. The news was full of terrible grief predominantly led by the headlines from the Middle East which I had been listening to on the radio as I ran around completing mindless tasks. I was not in the mood to go even though I was so hot and needed to jump in the water to cool off. My mood and thinking were just not conducive and it just seemed like to much organizing etc. It was already late in the afternoon. I was supposed to be making dinner for everyone, blahdeeblahdeeblah.................bad mood and tired. Hey, I was great company!

So, we get to the beach.....hauling crap down to the shore...........tired and sweaty and thinking negative thoughts............... when I was asked if I wanted to hop in the boat for the first round of tubers. Before I knew it I was sitting backwards in the boat spotting my daughter and her good friend as they climbed up on the inner tube for a spin. It was my daughter's first time and her friend the "pro" was giving her instructions like "Don't keep your mouth open because you might bite your tongue off when we go over a big wave.........." you know stuff that creates a feeling of dreaded anticipation?

Then we were off, pulling the girls up and down the river. What I witnessed was pure unadulterated joy. Slipping and skipping and skimming the wake, bouncing and bobbing over the waves and holding on for their dear lives...........I could hear their squealing laughter over the din of the motor. Their faces exuded joy and I was completely caught up in the moment (almost forgetting that I was spotting) laughing along with them to a point where I had tears in my eyes.

"More, more, more...bring it on!"...............they shouted as they were flung off the tube.

According to Nouwen, joy and hope are never separate. "Hope and joy are spiritual gifts rooted in an intimate relationship with the One who loves you with an everlasting love and who will always remain faithful to you."

Moments of joy are hopeful glimpses from God? I think so..................especially when they bring light to the dark shadows that can permeate our lives.