All That Glitters - Is JOY!

Psalm 16:11 --  "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence."

From the bottom of the Christmas tree I can hear the little bell that hangs from an ornament in the shape of a bright red top hat. The cats are playing with it again. As the tree shakes with their play, a sparkle catches my eye and I'm drawn to the word JOY as it spins slightly on a tree branch. Cardboard covered in gold glitter - each time the word spins, light refracts off it's multifaceted surface. The bright gold is a great contrast to the deep green of the tree. 

Joy, indeed. 

Ever wonder why some find joy so illusive during the hustle and bustle of this holiday season? Why the traffic gets meaner and the mobs in line at the store get more aggressive? More selfish? Why does Scrooge Mankind march through busy department stores in a puffy huff with BA-humbug radiating out from them in a huge grumpy bubble?

It's really pretty simple. 

In Psalm 16:11 David proclaims that he is filled with joy in the presence of our Lord. THAT's where the joy is! In the presence of our Savior! It's not wrapped up in fancy paper with pretty bows nestled under a brightly lit Christmas tree. It's not hidden in the icing of a really good sugar cookie or lost all the way in the toe of your Christmas stocking. It's not even in the big meal shared by family and friends .... it's in our Lord, Jesus Christ!

I love that David keeps the message simple. You fill me with JOY in your presence, Lord! Our Father lights up the path of our lives, leading us straight to the real joy of being in His presence when we reach the end.

Through out this month my goal is to focus on JOY. The joy that is so often missed when Christmas gets crazy. The joy that somehow gets lost in the scramble that puts a frown on my face and buried in the chaos that shifts my focus away from what this season is really all about. When I read this verse in Psalms this morning, it put a smile on my face. I am gently reminded that my joy was and is gift-wrapped in a little baby born in a humble stable. In HIS presence, lit up by a bright, once-in-a-life-time star that makes known to all of us the path that will lead us to real, unbridled JOY! The joy that can only be found in the presence of Jesus Christ.