I don’t know if this happens to you, but every now and then in the middle of my ordinary day a burst of extreme joy will just well up inside me and begin to overflow. Depending on where I am and what I’m doing I may suppress this emotion, but if I’m alone I may burst into laughter or even tears of gratitude for the simple joys of life. I began to reflect on some common things in my everyday life that I treasure, moments that bring a smile to my face and I thought I would share them with you.
Some of my favorite things in this world are sunsets and sunrises. Just last Sunday as we were heading to church I became completely captivated by the early morning display in the sky and even though my husband was speaking to me, I didn’t hear a word he was saying. I absentmindedly agreed with him while being mesmerized by the pinks and oranges painted flawlessly along the horizon. It’s funny because I have seen countless, literally thousands of sunsets and/or sunrises over the course of my life but they still take my breath away. As I pause to acknowledge the handiwork of God, sweet joy bubbles up inside my heart and filters out into my day.
Something else that creates that warm fuzzy feeling inside my heart is when my husband leaves for work every morning. Now don’t read that wrong! I’m not glad he’s leaving. I would much rather spend the day with him, but our predictable parting routine is a constant source of joy for me and its value cannot be calculated. His day begins so early that I am very much sound asleep. At three o’clock in the morning I am snoring contentedly in dreamland and aware of virtually nothing. But when he leans down to kiss me goodbye and tell me loves me and pull the comforter up to tuck me in, I am filled with a deep peace and joy that is hard to describe. Contented sighing and a lazy smile is about all I can muster before I drift back to sleep, but it’s a sweet moment that lingers in my heart that I often draw joy from during the course of my busy day.
C.S. Lewis wrote a book called “Surprised by Joy.” This book is a reflection of his life and the journey he walked from religion to atheism to faith. As he neared the end of his life, he recounted many instances of experiencing overwhelming joy that took him by surprise and startled him. He eventually became convinced that these experiences of joy were supernatural moments that could only be explained by the existence of a beneficent God who longed to interact with His creation. These moments of joy pointed his heart to eternity. I relate to this theory myself and in these simple ordinary moments when I am overcome by joy, I too thank the Lord, who I have come to know as the giver of every good and perfect gift no matter how ordinary.