How To Spell “JOY” This Christmas
I remember hearing once that the way to spell "JOY" is "Jesus-Others-You" - the point being that when we focus more upward and outward, and less inward, joy has a way of catching up with us. Maybe because, according to Jesus, "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
I bet you, too, know this from experience.
One area I've found this to be true in is my relationship with Christopher, my stepson, who has severe autism.
Whenever I focus on doing something for or with Christopher— wake him up in the morning by gently massaging his feet, shop for coloring books and crafts for him and then watch how his eyes sparkle while he colors or paints or builds, take him swimming or running and see how he sets goals and pushes himself and continues to break his existing records—I forget about myself.
I forget about my own disappointments and frustrations.
Like that Monday in December… The day didn’t start too well, but it ended on a much, much better note. All thanks to “JOY”.
In the early morning hours, some random delivery guy with the wrong address rang the doorbell, mercilessly yanking me out of dreamland.
Next, as I opened the dryer to retrieve the load from the night before, I found that the entire inside was smeared with something icky and greasy and blue. Every single item of clothing I proceeded to pull out proved to be splattered in countless places with this same permanent blue color.
Including my favorite sweater.
Eek.
As I would discover, the culprit was a piece of crayon in the pocket of a pair of boy’s shorts.
Add to this that it had been a stressful week for me, workwise, and you have an idea of my overall state of mind as I headed out the door that afternoon with Christopher for a quick walk before dinner.
Only after we reached the street corner did I notice Christopher had brought his small sketchbook with him (of course, my thoughts immediately went to blue crayons).
While waiting at a stop light, he opened the book and proudly showed me his most recent drawing, one of a snowman. Jack Frosty had a top hat, a colorful scarf, tree branch arms, a carrot nose, and a buttoned-up “shirt.”
Aww, my heart melted! I praised Christopher for his artistic abilities, silent prayers of gratitude exploding within me. I thought of his narrow escape from a life-threatening swallowing disorder just a year and a half earlier and what a miracle it was that he was still with us. Thank You, Lord!
Curiously, just minutes later, the two of us happened upon a home with a giant cardboard snowman decoration on the front lawn. When I pointed out to Christopher how much this snowman looked like his drawing (all the details were identical!), his eyes lit up, and he began to giggle, as he often does when he’s happy.
Later that evening, while running errands, I came across an advent calendar for sale. It was the same kind my sister and I had as kids growing up in Norway, with one window for each of the first 24 days of December.
What was so special about this particular calendar was that it had an illustration of a snowman on it. A snowman that (you guessed it) had a striking resemblance to the lawn cardboard snowman AND Christopher’s drawing!
I had to get it for him!
I’d never bought Christopher an advent calendar before or heard Don talk about either boy ever having one, so I had no idea if it would be a hit or a miss. But if the cardboard snowman had put a smile on Christopher’s face, maybe the calendar snowman would accomplish the same?
As soon as I got home, I slipped the calendar into Christopher’s lap. Upon laying eyes on “his” snowman again, he laughed out loud, the most adorable laugh ever.
The calendar was a hit.
That evening, and every evening for the next 23 days, I would initiate a “calendar opening time” with Christopher. I would pull out the advent calendar, place it in front of him, and remind him of the number of days left until baby Jesus’ birthday.
Next, I would watch as he located the correct window, pushed on the dotted lines, pried the window open with great anticipation, and plucked out another small piece of chocolate.
And each time, a bit of Christopher’s joy would rub off on me.
Yes, to spell “JOY,” we must - in addition to making it our chief aim to glorify Jesus - prioritize the wellbeing of another person. This is next in order of importance.
And you know what the cool thing is? The two usually go hand in hand. When we make someone else’s day, it tends to make Jesus’ day, too!
First, “Jesus”…
Second, “Others”…
Lastly, it’s “You”.
But let’s not think that placing ourselves last means we’re a doormat. That isn’t what the J-O-Y acronym intends to convey.
It also doesn't mean we should never pay attention to our own needs or that we should overextend ourselves so much for others that we end up in Urgent Care.
When Scripture uses phrases like “deny yourself” (Luke 9:23) and “take up your cross” (Matthew 10:38), here’s what it’s communicating: We’re more likely to have a run-in with joy when we center our lives around Jesus and people, as opposed to making life mostly about ourselves: our interests, our plans, our wants, our fulfillment.
This holds true on a larger scale as it pertains to goal setting, lifestyle choices, pursuing your calling, and so on. It also holds true in those regular, everyday moments when we sense that self-focused discouragement is starting to creep up on us.
Like I experienced that December afternoon.
In fact, I’m constantly finding that shifting my attention away from myself and onto Jesus and others is by far the best way to beat the blues.
It usually doesn’t take much to experience joy.
Sometimes, all it takes is a kid with a huge heart. Someone who loves Christmas and snowmen and knows how to find happiness in the little things.
Someone who carries crayons in his pockets.
L.B.
Have you experienced this, too—that when you focus on Jesus and others, it brings you joy? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!
If you got value from this post, feel free to use the social media share buttons to share it with others!
