How To Know When Joy Is Knocking At Your Door

Joy comes knocking on your door when you might think you have more important, better or necessary things you have to do.

Dropping The Wafer

A couple weekends ago my wife and I were at Church taking Communion. After I was handed the wafer, the Lay Minister came around to offer me the Cup. I never drink directly from the Cup – like my wife, I dip my wafer. On this day, there was only a little wine left at the bottom, which meant that I had to stretch my fingers out to reach it.

In my feeble attempt to do so, the wafer slipped out and fell into the wine.

The Lay Minister and I looked down at the fully-soaked wafer floating seemingly out of reach, then back to each other.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, unsure what else to say.

She seemed stunned. “I’ve never had that happen before,” she replied.

“What do we do?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know!”

And then we laughed. Not a hearty, loud laugh, but something between just the two of us. It didn’t seem like anyone else really even noticed.

With a little bit of creativity we actually did manage to get the wafer out, and I still ate it.

As it turns out, I learned a week later that there’s actually a special spoon on-hand for just such an occasion.

Regardless, my little faux pas – while causing a brief moment of confusion – somehow took a moment that typically is reserved for seriousness, prayer and profound reverence and turned it into something ridiculous and funny.

Easter Smiles

This past Easter Sunday at Church, I went to get my daughter Addie from Church daycare right around the time that the Minister was giving the Holy Eucharist Rite, and somehow managed to return during the prayer before Communion. Typically, you’re not supposed to walk in during the prayers, however, no one stopped me, and I didn’t know that was the part they were at – I was really only thinking about getting my daughter back into the Church before Communion started.

As Addie and I got to our pew, she shouted “Where’s Mommy?” and, upon seeing my wife, “There’s Mommy!” really loud, which prompted nearly the entire congregation to erupt in laughter, even as the Minister continued the prayer unfazed.

Afterward, as we all had some munchies and drank coffee, quite a few people came up to tell us that Addie was the life of the service. One of the older women there went so far as to say that she felt joy in her heart when she heard how happy my daughter was to find her mother.

Even though we probably shouldn’t have gone into the Church when we did – at a time where we are supposed to be silent, serious and respectful – something completely unexpected and wonderful happened.

Joy entered the room.

Don’t Miss Out On Joy

I think you and I probably have a good idea of what Joy is and what it means, but I don’t think we’re always attuned to it. We aren’t always as open to it as we’d like.

I think sometimes we’re so wrapped up in what we are doing – our schedules, our routines, whatever it is we think we’re supposed to be doing – that we don’t necessarily recognize it when it walks in. Or maybe we ignore it because it’s not what we expect at that time.

You don’t expect to laugh over a dropped wafer soaking in the Cup of Salvation during Communion.

You don’t expect to laugh at someone interrupting a very serious and solemn prayer during Church.

But that’s the thing about Joy. Like many things in our lives, Joy doesn’t just show up when you are prepared for it. It doesn’t wait until you’ve set the table for its arrival. It doesn’t occupy itself until you are not busy.

Joy comes knocking on your door when you might think you have more important, better or necessary things you have to do.

When it does, do you drop whatever you are doing and let it in?

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When has Joy snuck in on you at the most unexpected of moments? Did you invite it in, or turn it away? Why? If you’ve invited it in, what specific moment of Joy did you experience? Share below!