Unexpected Joy

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 14 BCP 232)


Don’t Hesitate

BY MARY OLIVER

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,

don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty

of lives and whole towns destroyed or about

to be. We are not wise, and not very often

kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this

is its way of fighting back, that sometimes

something happens better than all the riches

or power in the world. It could be anything,

but very likely you notice it in the instant

when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case.

Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid

of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.


I love reading poetry which reminds me to be incarnational. To remember my humanity and my feelings. Joy always seems to be an unexpected feeling, because so much sorrow happens in this world. Yet, as Pope John Paul II said, "God made us for joy. God is joy, & the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us." Mary Oliver reminds us that when joy does show up, we can enjoy it. So when joy comes your way, "Give in to it."

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