Mysterious Joy

"How are you so happy all the time?" asked one of the youth at the youth event yesterday.  She'd only just met me a couple of hours before she mustered up the courage to compose the question in English.  Apparently she saw something different in me.
"Honestly, I'm not happy all the time.  Yesterday I was sad.  What you see in me today is the joy of the Lord,"  I replied.  Did I just say that?  I usually have a tinge of doubt when I hear people say, "It's the joy of the Lord," or "She's so full of the joy of the Lord."  Sure... 
"Why were you sad?" she wanted to know.
Knowing she wouldn't understand the term culture shock, I simply said, "I miss Canada."
The conversation carried on with both Travis and I trying to encourage her to find a Christian girlfriend to confide in.  It was apparent that she really needed a friend she could trust.

I share this little snip-it of the youth event to say that I was surprised to hear myself recognize that Joy of Lord at work in me.  Two days prior, I was wrestling with feelings of frustration with how this culture operates; with desires to be back in Regina where I could share my life with others without a translator; with longings to have a little space to be alone with my wife and daughter (we are blessed to live next door to Travis and Alicia and have Len and Carol visiting, but sometimes I crave more independence than we have right now); and with the unfamiliar urge to have a rifle to play target practice with the neighborhood canines!--sorry all you dog-lovers,they are not this man's best friends at the moment.

The youth event, a photo scavenger hunt, was like an oasis in the midst of the dry disorientation that comes with culture shock.  I found myself soaking in the energy that youth exuded in all the games.  I loved their laughter and embraced their enthusiasm.  Over the course of the afternoon, it was like I had switched over to the reserve tank and forgot that the main tank was bone dry.  Simple put, I had so much fun.  And this is what the young lady unknowingly summarized as me being "happy all the time."  I was surprised by the joy that I received from seeing a youth event that I had planned workout so well.  I was even more surprised that I acknowledged it as joy from above and not simply the energy of the moment created by all the efforts of everyone involved in making this event a success.  This mysterious Joy showed up and gave me the strength to make it through the day!

To add a little icing on the cake, God capped off my afternoon with a touching sight that reminded me of how He loves His children.  Nearing the end of my walk home I saw a family on the grassy slope beside the river.  The father had three balloons in his hand: one pink, one purple, one blue.  He was kneeling side his wife and his two children were joyfully looking into two boxes that we in front of them.  As I looked closer the boxes were green shoe boxes with red lids.  A smile came to my face.  I was getting to witness  the joy of children opening shoe boxes sent as part of Samaritan Purse's Operation Christmas Child.  I wanted to take a picture of them, but I didn't want to intrude.   I walked past, giving thanks to God.  When I got the bridge, roughly a hundred meters away, I turned back to see if I could take a picture from a distance.  To my dismay the old camera wouldn't zoom that far.  As I looked up from the camera I saw to other families starting down the hill and the children were holding green and red boxes!  I took a few pictures of the river below and waited to get a good shot of one of the families.  One of the boys ran ahead and as he approached I asked him for a picture.

 I don't know much about Samaritan's Purse.  In fact, Operation Christmas Child is their only program that I've encountered.  But I do know, by seeing the joy these packages brought these children, God works through them.  I've never put much thought into how the joy of Lord presents itself day to day in the lives of His children.  Yesterday's experiences have certainly sparked my curiosity.  And I pray that God would give us all glimpses of, if not full on, experiences of His mysterious joy in the days to come!