A Child-Like Joy
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few breaths, and allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Consider the last time you allowed yourself to feel joy fully!
"Joy is the most vulnerable emotion we experience."
― Brene Brown
“Grief is the price we pay for love.”
― Queen Elizabeth II
Luke 2:17-20
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Food for Thought
Rooted in my front yard is the most amazing oak tree. When we first moved in, more than a decade ago, my Grandma said that we were blessed to have such a “shade tree” in our yard, and she wasn’t wrong! It is probably my favorite thing about sitting on my front porch in the summer. But when fall comes, that magnificent shade tree dumps a mountain of leaves all over my yard (and the yards at least three houses down from us) – a mountain of leaves that, in the eyes of my five-year-old daughter, is the best thing that happens to our yard all year!
One morning, my daughter begged me to jump into the leaves with her…so I decided to push aside the usual concerns about what might be all over those leaves, or what animal might be crawling through or hiding in them, and I just went for it!
I honestly forgot how much fun it could be!
Allowing myself to run, jump, and land in this pile of leaves took me back to that carefree feeling I remember having as a kid – that same feeling I could see all over my daughter's face. As we jumped together, I realized how long it had been since I had allowed myself to let go and feel that joy. The simple, uninhibited joy of a child.
It makes me wonder why we don’t find ourselves immersed in our own joy more often. Why is joy such a difficult emotion to live into?
Perhaps it is because, as Brene Brown suggests, “joy is the most vulnerable emotion we experience.” As we go through life, we realize what we aren’t quite able to grasp as kids – that our lives are both beautiful and fragile. The more we open ourselves to fully experiencing the joys in our lives, the more vulnerable we also make ourselves to loss and grief. Sooner or later, we will all know loss – and because we have known joy, we also understand the gravity of losing it.
I imagine few people understand this better than Mary.
Bearing witness to Jesus, holding the sacredness of his story, is to bear witness to the full experience of what it means to be human – to love, to fear, to dream, to hope, and even to be rejected. It is also to be assured that, like the love of Mary for her son, we are loved and held by the love of God through it all – a love that will not let us go, that wraps us in warmth, holds us tightly, and tends to us gently through each and every moment – from the most joy-filled, to the most heartbreaking.
Jesus invites us into a way of joy that requires only the willingness of our own open hearts to experience this life freely and vulnerably together. It is the way that calls us to experience our full humanity without neglecting to embrace as a child the joy-filled ordinary moments of our everyday living. Let us live with a greater awareness of the ways divine joy is breaking into the world within us, through us, and all around us.
Think of an activity that brought you joy as a child – revisit that joy either by engaging in that activity again, or by sharing a story of that joy with a friend.
If you would like a printable version of today’s reflection, you can find one in The Traveling Table eBook.
...and don't forget, the eBooks also include printable journaling pages, coloring pages, and Table Talk Cards!
Blessing
Joyful God,
We give thanks for joy, and for the moments when it finds us. Guide our hearts to joy-filled encounters with you, within ourselves, within community, and within all of creation.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
When was the last time you experienced child-like joy?
Talk about why you think it can be hard to experience the feeling of child-like joy as an adult.
How can you use your awareness of life’s fragility to live into joy more fully?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask your child to share about what makes them feel the happiest or most excited.
Then ask them to share about a time that they felt sad or disappointed.
This season, what can you and your kiddo do together to bring joy to those around you? Surprising your neighbors with presents, volunteering at a shelter, participating in a community giving program, etc.?
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
The Welcome Table Team - We are “The Bunce Girls!” Originally from Lexington, North Carolina, we were raised surrounded by music, justice, and faith. We spent most of our Sunday afternoons gathered around an open table with family and friends where the food was plentiful, stories and laughter connected our hearts, and where the presence of each individual was held sacred. It’s those moments that have inspired The Welcome Table.
To hear more from TWT Team throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!