WATCHWORD:
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy, I will draw living water from the Wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:2-3
Meditation:
Express Your Joy
How do you express your joy in the Lord? Not so that other people would know, it’s just between you and God. But how do you express a grand ‘thank you, Lord’ for you have planted in my heart a joy I can’t explain nor would I try, unless the Lord moved me to do so.
How? Just let it out. Don’t manufacture it. This is not a must do; it’s a get to do, because we really can’t contain the joy of the Lord. It might be reflected on your face, but that’s not required because the joy that you feel, the God given joy, is within our heart, but there may be times when tears will fall because it’s impossible to hold back the joy of the Lord.
Express it! Sing a little song, dance a little jig, whistle a happy tune, write a little poem, shed a tear of compassion, reach out and lift the fallen, speak gibberish in love to the Lord in the privacy of your room, share a happy moment with a friend, strum on your guitar in praise, toot on your flute, take a walk in the woods. Makes no difference, just express it!
Just be silly, if you will. When you sing that happy tune, sing off-key, or make it sound like high opera. Write a silly sonnet about sour, sad, Sam whose scowl was shattered when struck by the Joy of the Lord. You give it a try. Whatever you do, just do it, to the glory of the Lord. Be silly and grateful at the same time to the audience of One; your Lord and Savior, He’s listening. Amen.
Silly Goofball:
This really happened to me, as I was writing this meditation of joy and praise to God. I heard the Lord say to me, with a laugh, “Amen, you silly goofball!” The Lord called me a goofball, with love and humor! I just knew it, and I cried, Hallelujah, I’m brother to Jesus and a child of God. Holy mackerel!
Bulletin Board:
On a serious note. A guided meditation on Mary, the mother of Jesus, will be held on Saturday, April 4, at two different times and locations. This is not a chapel service, it is a quiet, meditative experience, guided by cues, imagining what Mary endured during Good Friday and Sacred Saturday in Jerusalem, nearly 2,000 years ago. This experience will be held at Timbercrest Retirement Community Chapel at 10 a.m., and repeated again at Peabody Retirement Community Chapel, at 3:15 p.m. All are welcome. Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 4.
Prayer of Gratitude:
Thank you, Father God, for always being with us, for understanding where we are, for knowing when we’re struggling, and knowing when we’re giving praise to you, even when it seems a little ridiculous, but always honoring you. Guide us, Lord, in our dance, in our song, in our writing, in our playing instruments, guide us in all of our silliness, guide us in the ways we praise your Holy name. Amen.
