Who Has Time for Joy?

Spring is often a busy busy time in my line of work. Finishing up the 'church year', marking milestones, preparing for all of what comes next--I'm doing All The Things and working All The Hours.

I love the work I am doing. But I know that I did not really see my sons today. (Half-asleep, I could hear someone crowing about eating pie for breakfast.) I know that my fridge really needs to be cleaned out and I still haven't finished pruning my rose bushes. 

Long work hours mean that all those normal adult undertakings of life, like bills and laundry and grocery shopping are being shunted to the nooks and crannies of the day and heavily distributed to the other people I live with. Thank goodness for their understanding, or at least their dedication to the common cause.

And we all know that I will be quieter times at work, less urgent details and looming deadlines. I will spend more time with the family, cook complete meals, empty the long-forgotten Rubbermaid containers.

In one of those serendipities of life, the Sunday school lesson I prepped today uses Mary Ann Moore's "Things God Made for Joy." This alternate creation story tells us how God went about her work very seriously, then stopped to add some whimsy and wonder.  The beauty of snowflakes, interesting patterns and habits of every animal, human feet that are tickly and voices that giggle.

It wasn't until I'd printed the lesson AND found pictures for the story AND was sliding the pages into binder sheets that I got the point.

So the next time I went to grab papers off the printer, I snapped this picture of a bird on the other side of the window. I stopped to make jokes with a coworker.

And when my family and I are awake at the same time, dagnabbit, we're going to do something for joy.