Sunday, December 27, 2015

BLAHS vs JOY


 

Thou wilt shew me the path of lie:
in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore.
Psalms 16:11


It happens around this time of year to many folks, including Christians...the blahs. By the time people manage to survive until the first week of January, all of the anticipation, excitement, gifts have been given and received. There have been choir presentations, decorations, shopping, family visits, school parties, over-eating and over spending, that all take a toll emotionally and maybe even physically on almost anyone. We sang with great fervor and joy through the month of December:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart, prepare Him room
and Heaven and nature sing.”


I wonder, though, by the time we get past all the events and are left with let down emotions, if another song could be changed that would better describe our feelings. It's a child's song we used to sing also with joy:

I've got the blahs, blahs, blahs, blahs
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart.
I've got the blahs, blahs, blahs, blahs
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart to stay.


We've all been there. We don't like the feeling and we certainly didn't plan for it, but it can happen. Christmas starts in stores, on-line ads and catalogs as early as October and sometimes September. It is everywhere we go...can't get away from it. We find ourselves getting with the program. I remember as a little girl that the Christmas tree went up only a week before Christmas. Some people put their tree up on Christmas eve. Sounds odd, doesn't it and yet, I think there was more of a realistic view of the season back then. We weren't left in a huge emotional mess.

Keep in mind that these emotional let downs don't just happen with adults as they can happen with children as well. Children generally feel a letdown when they open their last gift and may even say or want to say, “Is this all?” All of us can remember as children the build up to a big day like Christmas or even birthdays. Parents along with the rest of their emotions feel a sense of guilt if they don't produce for their children those things other children are receiving. Forget Thanksgiving. In America there is a two month orgy our country has come to be called “Christmas” and even now, that word is hardly used in commercial entities. Just that fact can depress me as much as anything.

So what do we do? I'm speaking to all of us, common ordinary people who are emotionally healthy, at least ten months out of the year. We first have to recognize the cause of these feelings of depression, over-tired, listless, inactive, head achy, and perhaps not sleeping well. Some of the best advice I ever heard on this subject was to plan something eventful in the first part of January...it might be a trip, attending a special event, saving gift certificates until January or something you could think of that would be appropriate for you or yours that could be fun to look forward to. Most important is for us to maintain our spiritual priorities. It's easy over holiday times to let our Bible reading go. We might even be careless in church attendance and activities. Our spiritual strength isn't just going to happen. It should stem from an important relationship with the Lord that is vital to our well-being every day of the year.

The answer is a spiritual answer that applies to any time of the year. These blahs can attack us after coming home from a dreamed-of vacation or after a family wedding. I can remember as a girl being depressed for at least a couple of weeks after I had to return home from church camp. I had counted days until I could go to Lake Benton Baptist Camp. Suddenly it seemed, that day was there and each day there just seemed to fly.

As simplistic as it sounds, the Lord we sing of in “Joy to the world” is still the answer. That carol's first line is deep with meaning: “Joy to the world...THE LORD IS COME.” Jesus came then, but He comes everyday of the year into our lives. He wants the preeminence above all events, holidays, vacations, etc. If we are to get excited, He wants it to be over Him and not the things this world has managed to come up with. He understands happiness, but if our joy and happiness comes as a result of our relationship with Him, all other things will fall into place. Then when big events occur, we can get back to normalcy quickly because He is our normal.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if into the month of January, we could truly sing, even if quietly to ourselves:

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart,
Down in my heart.
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart.
Down in my heart TO STAY.”


There's only one reason we can sing that familiar song from childhood primary Sunday school. That reason is:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King.
Let EVERY heart,
Prepare Him room.
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven...and heaven
And nature sing.”


That should not be just a song for Christmas, but for every single day because He is our joy. We must prepare Him room to work and move in our lives every day.

Thank You Jesus for being the only source of our joy. Forgive us, at times, for not making room for You in our lives when we get busy or preoccupied with so many things. Forgive our lack of consideration for You and all You've done for us. In Your precious name...Amen

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