Happiness held is the seed;
happiness shared is the flower.
ANONYMOUS
When he was a chubby, out-of-shape 14-year-old, Dean loathed being a paper boy. The last thing he wanted to do was go outside and exercise. Why ride a bike and fling papers day in and day out for slave wages when he could be sprawled on a couch watching TV or taking a nap?
Rags, Dean’s Beagle/terrier mix, felt quite differently. His master’s paper route was the highlight of this dog’s existence. As Dean huffed and puffed along, laboriously tossing papers, Rags would romp joyfully alongside. Rags memorized the route and would dash ahead of Dean to identify the next house with all the exuberance of a bird dog pointing out the prey. For Rags, delivering papers wasn’t an exhausting, low-paying job—it was fun! He delighted in it. What was drudgery for Dean was a blast for his dog. And now, many years later, when Dean recalls his paper route he no longer sees the experience through the eyes of his teenage self, but through his joyful memories of his beloved dog. Now a trim and fit adult, Dean admits that Rags and the paper route is probably the happiest memory of his fourteenth year. Such is the power of joy.
When you live in Southern California, one of the required rites of passage is introducing your child to Disneyland—“the Happiest Place on Earth.” We first took our boy, Skye, when he was three. At his age and height—he was less than 36 inches tall—he wasn’t allowed on the adult rides I considered more fun. So we stayed mostly in Fantasy Land, going on kiddie rides I faintly recalled experiencing with my parents when I’d been Skye’s age. These were older, slower, gentler rides—less high-tech and with fewer thrills—rides I enjoyed for nostalgia’s sake but not ones I’d have chosen if my wife, Celine, and I had been on our own. But it’s not the attractions that make Disneyland so memorable—it’s the joy on your toddler’s face as he or she delights in flying over London with Peter Pan for the first time or holding on to a unicorn on a maiden spin around the merry-go-round.
When Skye was seven—old enough and tall enough to go on the adult rides—we took him to Disneyland again. While I still enjoyed riding the Matterhorn, my real kick was Skye asking if the Abominable Snowmen on the ride would be real—or the delight on his face when we got soaking wet on Splash Mountain and he wanted to go right back and do it all over again.
Rags and Skye both give examples of how the innocent joy of a dog or a child can transform the familiar, the mundane, even the dismal into a pleasant and positive memory. So, if a Beagle/terrier mix and a little boy have such power, how might we as children of God be able to transform the world around us?
Many people perceive the world they live in as familiar, mundane, and even dismal. If we who know the Lord were truly a delight and joy to be around, how might this affect their experience? If, in the face of negativity, we lived out the fruits of the Spirit, how might it turn their worldview upside down? If we delighted and rejoiced in the Lord, how might it transform their lives?
I once had a student tell me how much I’d impacted his life—based on a brief meeting we’d had on campus that I could barely remember. I was surprised when he said that. He saw our half hour together as a key moment, but I saw it as just hanging out with him. Perhaps I tossed out a nugget of wisdom or said an encouraging word or two. I can’t recall. But like Rags and Skye weren’t consciously trying to pump joy and positive vibes into their world, neither was I. Like Dean’s dog and my son, I was just being.
It is the highest blessing in the universe to be children of God. As His children, we are urged in Psalm 37:4 to delight ourselves in Him. If we continually delight in the One who dwells in our innermost hearts, we cannot help but spread His joy and transform the world around us.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:1-3).
What are some of the most joyful moments of your life? What are some times you’ve delighted in the Lord? How did your joy affect those around you? How can you spread joy to those around you right now?