Small Steps Together

The entry in Small Steps for January 13 asked me to make a list of the things that bring me joy.  For whatever reason, my mind went completely blank.  I was stumped.  I was alarmed.  There must be something!  I read over Danielle Bean's essay in the Companion Journal.  Yes, I was quite sure that I that I knew the experience of Joy.  But nothing came to mind.  Needless to say I wasn't going to be able to make the list that day - instead I set out to watch for those moments of Joy.

At some point during the day I glanced out the window and saw a bird alight on the tree - an immediate lightness and delight filled me.  Yes - this was a moment of joy!  I began to think what a salve God's creation is to my soul - from the vastness of the ocean or the view from a mountain top to all the little love notes He leaves me to find in the most surprising places.

I remembered how loved I felt when I realized that in every walnut you can find a love note fashioned by the Creator!

Then I remembered the giggles that escaped from me as I finished each little mouse for a friend during Advent.  All it took was a walnut shell, a bit of wool, some soap and water, a few beads, needle and thread.  With these small things and the work of my hands I crafted a little token that would be a gift to a child. The work of my hands, the giving...Joy.

How our Lord must have delighted in His creation!  How he must delight in each one of us.

I remembered the simple smile of a child brings Joy.  Their sweet mischievousness.  A chess game won.  A new tune on the Bagpipe mastered.  The sound of young womens' voices in song.

So much Joy.  I only had to stop, look, and listen.  And give thanks.  I think I will never struggle again to recognize the Joy in my life.  At least I hope not.  Lord, forgive me if I do.  My work now is to take those moments and stretch them out until they meet one another, until our days are covered by Joy.  What a happy vocation. 

CCC 2094

--acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness.