Would You Share Your Joy With Me?
by Laci Lee Adams,
Director of Lifespan Religious Development
What is it that gives you joy? What activities ignite your passions? Where does your magic bloom? We live in precarious times and our media/social media environment can easily engulf us in a doom spiral! Sometimes it’s easier to cultivate despair instead of joy. So, we have to be intentional about dedicating time and attention to our joy!
At our recent board retreat, a getting-to-know-you activity asked each of us what our favorite place to visit was. It took me a while to find my answer because my favorite place is actually more about my family’s joy than only about my preferences. Emily and I are both people born to the water; not surprising since I was born on a bayou and Emily was born on an island. In addition, the place that Emily has most visited, Cape Cod, happens to be her favorite place in the world.
I didn’t love the Cape when we first started traveling there together (though that was more about the sand than the water.) However, eventually, as I fell in love with Emily, I fell in love with the place that gives her joy. We actually got married on the Cape, since it both had become our place and because we lived in a place that did not allow same-sex marriage at that time.
Our child Ben is a wild ocean child – who loves the water and the beach and the wide open feel of freedom! This last week, we also dunked our child Molly in the ocean to start her own love affair with Cape Cod and have found that she already has a favorite aspect of the beach — sand!
And wow — it’s almost impossible to put into words the awe and wonder that I feel seeing my children love the water and beach and themselves in that place. To bear witness to the joy of another person is so very AWESOME! Watching my family love the world helps me love them better!
That brings me to an invitation. I deeply want to bear witness to all of your joys. Do your kids love to swim? Have you found your voice in a theatre company? Have you found your magic on the pickle-ball court? Does your heart love to sing? Does volleyball make your heart race (in a good way!)? Do you find your happiness watching movies in a dark theater? I will be scheduling visits to see our young people in some of their sports, hobbies, activities, and loves over the next year. If you have things that cultivate your joy, please invite me along. Together, we can care for one another’s joys!
Best,
Laci
Images source: Laci Lee Adams