Joy in the Journey

"A reading from Philippians", I stood before a small group of worshippers on Sunday evening and began to read the Scripture appointed for the third Sunday of Advent - the day we lit the Candle of Joy.

My afternoon had been a bit futile.  Planner that I am, I had saved the afternoon to write. . .but no words came to my brain much less to my keyboard.  It was my week to serve communion at the rail and here I was.

"Rejoice in the Lord and again I say Rejoice in the Lord." I could hear my children  singing, 

O Rejoice in the LORD  He makes no mistake, 

He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried  And purified,  I shall come forth as gold."

 

Certainly not the time for an earworm.  Listen up, Paula.

 

"The apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote the words in today's Epistle", the Rev. Karen Booth began her sermon.  "He was encouraging us to find joy in the bad times".

I remembered that my mother always says "we rejoice in the Lord - not in the circumstances".

Earlier that day I had learned of the death of my childhood friend Bobby.   I don't know if he was my first boyfriend, but I do know that he was the first boy to give me flowers (that my mother watched him "steal" from our neighbor's yard).  

I was having a difficult time, putting my head around his death and knowing that today I will go to that same Jewish cemetery where I was with him when he buried his mother.  One of our childhood friends called me to say that once Bobby told her he would become a gentile if I would marry him.

If you knew how much Bobby valued his heritage you would understand that to be a BIG deal.  Of course if you know me you know that his becoming a gentile is not the issue.  And in case you are wondering we talked about that difference many times.

And I keep thinking of the fact that I kept meaning to see if we could meet for lunch and I never did.  I hadn't seen him in 18 months. Although I know he didn't "take care of himself", I didn't know he was ill.

Unlike another high school friend who I have only recently connected with on Facebook.  She is quite ill and it is this post that I planned to focus on - for the third Sunday of Advent:

". . .Just want all of you to know how thankful I am for your prayers. God is answering them! I feel the power of them, as many of you tell me you have prayed for us to have peace, strength, comfort, courage, hope, healing, joy in the journey, and grace when pain arises.

I planned to write about how important it is to find Joy in the journey.  I still think it is important - I just think it's difficult!