“Happiness is like rising bubbles – delightful and inevitably fleeting. Joy is the oxygen – ever present.” – Danielle LaPorte
There are nine of us: a group of women who met as sorority sisters at OU. One of our favorite times together is at Christmas. We call it our Christmas Dinner Club. We meet in one of our homes, share a dinner, and have an ornament exchange.
Just two years ago, I went to our Christmas dinner with a secret. My secret? Well, it seemed the world was closing in on me. I was fearful, sad, unsure what the future would hold. I had just been diagnosed with cancer. And at the time of our dinner, it was a pretty bleak diagnosis.
A baby born in a manger was not what the world was expecting. The world was in fear, bleak, sad, unsure of the future. They wanted a king, a miracle. The angels announced Christ’s birth with the words, “Joy to the world!” Joy? Peace? How could a baby’s birth conquer their enemies and change their world in the way they longed?
I remember sitting down to the table and, as I looked around at my friends, I was flooded with emotion. It was a moment where I stopped and felt fully present. In that quick moment, I felt the incredible joy that comes from a place deep within your soul. The things I longed for became clear. The things I longed for were these moments surrounded by the love and presence of friends and family. The things of the world that I worried about, stressed over, and feared, were insignificant. With the joy, there came a peace that washed over me.
Christ’s birth signified new life being breathed into a dark world. Our creator and source of life came to live among us to remind us of His love – a love that provides a deep joy and peace that comes from knowing He is ever present in our happiness and our sorrow.
Joy comes at unexpected moments that move our soul. Joy comes when we allow ourselves to be present to the love and life we have been given. Joy gives light and makes way for happiness, even in dark times.
What we long for can be found deep within our soul, and is given to us by our source of life. Pause, take a deep breath, fill your lungs with life-giving oxygen, and feel your heart expand to make room for that source of life, joy, and peace.
Oxygen is life. Birth is life. Joy is life. Christ is life – ever present.
Julie Robinson, Executive Director, Studio 222 After School Program
