Joy to the World
Twenty-five years ago, as my second Christmas in Africa drew to a close, I sat in my dark living room staring at my little Christmas tree. Its flickering lights tried, but failed to cheer up my lonely heart. I was lost in thought, recalling past Christmases in the snow of my Rocky Mountain home. Days on the ski hill. Afternoons skating on the frozen lake. All the family home.
My mind continued to leap from memory to memory as I let the tears fall. Singing carols around the Christmas tree. Playing games past my bedtime. Turkey dinner, topped with pumpkin pie. Christmas that year had none of those things. Celebrating in the African heat seemed wrong.
I had some happy moments for sure, but that night I was lonely. I turned on my CD player to enjoy the soothing sounds of my favourite Christmas melodies. One of them interrupted my reverie as the words pounded their way into my heart: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”
I suddenly felt convicted. The song does not say, “Joy to the world, there’s a Christmas party every night this week.”
It does not say, “Joy to the world, the turkey is in the oven, and the freezer is full of cookies.”
It does not say, “Joy to the world, the gifts are under the tree.”
It does not say, “Joy to the world, there’s a lot of snow on the ski hill.”
It doesn’t even say, “Joy to the world, the family is home.”
No, it says, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”
I asked the Lord to forgive me for looking for joy in the wrong places. It’s not that the traditions of Christmas in and of themselves are wrong. It’s that my focus had been wrong. It had been on me and all the traditions that I was missing—traditions that can never be my source of joy.
The angel said to a group of shepherds that first Christmas night, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
May the Saviour bring joy to your heart this Christmas season! May he dry your tears, carry your burdens, and grant you deep rest, as you celebrate this “good news of great joy”!
– Lisa Rohrick, Assistant District Superintendent