Enjoy!
“Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Our joy is off the charts! We just returned from a joy jammed week in Maine with four of our family living the adventure of a lifetime! Our daughter Kristin has made a cozy nest in their RV as she and Dave, Ethan and Silas enjoy life together on the road. Our two youngest grand boys, ages 7 and 9, don’t know how to not have fun! We’ve just seen it and enjoyed it with them for seven solid days. We’ve been trekking, boating, kayaking and celebrating together … non-stop!
We are friends of their enjoyment! Even though we’d prefer to have them living nearby we are finding joy in their happiness. Their joy is our joy … especially when we can see them! But that’s the case with all three of our children and their spouses, and our six GRANDkids. “Children’s children are a crown to the aged…” Proverbs 17:6 Together is always better!
C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” In his reflections on the book of Ecclesiastes, theologian J.I. Packer said, “Being too proud to enjoy the enjoyable is a very ugly shortcoming, and one that calls for immediate correction.” Here’s one more of his insights, “If we are miserable, it is because we have chosen to say no to joy. The fact remains that God intended joy for us from the start.”
Choosing joy is essential for wellness of soul. It’s been said that thankfulness is the royal road to joy. It’s a choice that we make despite the circumstances that we face. While that may be difficult for some right now, for us, even though most of our family is scattered across the country, our circumstances are remarkably wonderful.
Family reunions of any sort are rare, brief and therefore precious for us. On our first day of vacation I bought a new “Life is Good” cap and rarely took it off. I didn’t want to take a moment for granted.
Roasting hot dogs by the fire as the sun was setting over the lake.
Listening to our grand boys read aloud from their favorite books.
Hiking in the woods and delighting in the delight of their hyper energetic little Australian labradoodle.
Searching for perfect peaches and apples together in the PieTree Orchard.
Being silly together and feasting on ice-cream and “Holy Donuts” before we went to the airport.
Has it ever occurred to you that God wants you to enjoy life to the hilt? In his masterful book, Pure Pleasure, Gary Thomas writes: “God has given us taste buds, nerve endings, the capacity to laugh, the ability to create, eyes to marvel, minds to wonder, noses to smell and hands to feel. We give back to Him in proportion to how much we enjoy these good gifts.”
One of of the many fun things we did involved several treks in the woods of Maine. We were not only delighting in our grand boys but in their little dog who was obsessed with retrieving a favorite pine cone that I repeatedly kicked for her entertainment. Once again, simple events like that remind me that just as I delight in their delights, my Father in heaven delights in mine!
I daily remind myself that I am disproportionately blessed! How about you? How might you be giving delight to God today by enjoying the blessings, both large and small that He is lavishly sending your way?
“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
Grace and Peace,
Alan Ahlgrim, CSO (Chief Soul Care Officer)
Covenant Connections