Blessed Moment

I'm not a hunter, but I seem to do a lot of hunting. With great forethought and intentions, I gather items together and put them collectively in a safe place -- so safe even I can't find them! Maybe there's a hunter instinct in me after all. Oh, no!

God doesn't hide away His Joy. He desires us to have it. So why is it so difficult to find at times? Several Christmas seasons ago, I asked myself this question. A health problem kept me from baking and taking, shopping and wrapping, decorating and designing in typical Christmas fashion. With depression threatening, quick frankly, I found myself "hunting" for the Season's joy. Finally, soaking in a tub of hot water, I found myself unconsciously singing "Joy to the World" ... and I asked, “where did THAT come from?” "For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart." (Ecclesiastes 5:20) For that brief moment, the Joy of Christmas broke through rotten circumstances and manifest itself in song ... God's Heart of Joy answered my own searching heart. A blessed moment! Surely it must have been the same moment for Mary when she first held her Holy Child, after the pain of a long hard journey and the anguish of physical birth. Despite and beyond all unpleasantries, God answered Mary's heart and the hearts of men with The Joy of all joys -- His blessed eternal Peace and Joy. Oh, what a blessed moment!