Joy, Joy, Joy...

There's a Christmas song that says "Joy, Joy, Joy!" I don't remember the name of the song, and I know that it is mostly referring to Christ's birth, but as I think about it, we should be repeating these words everyday.  We are often caught in the doldrums of what we do each day and we get caught up in the "disaster" or "business" of our day, forgetting to have joy.

This makes me think of a man at our church. His name is Ray and I'm not sure of his age, but I would guess that he's in his early 30's. Ray has a smile that lights up a room and always has true joy on his face. He regularly comes up to me and talks with me. He particularly likes to tease me about my wife. He asks me a "Where's my Baby at?" He's a big flirt. He also likes just listen as I talk to him. He is one of the most friendly and kind people I know. He loves to laugh and smile. He is truly one of those people that you could punch in the nose and they would just smile at you.  Ray is one of a kind.

The thing about Ray is that he is almost completely paralyzed from the neck down and his hands are curled way back to where he can only bump your hand with the back of his wrist when he shakes hands. Ray doesn't know how old he is and can't really speak.  He just mumbles some words and you have to be around Him a lot to understand how to speak "Ray." He can understand most of what is said and thrives on the attention he gets when someone takes a few minutes just to talk to him. He dives his wheelchair thought out our church rooms and sometimes I have to direct traffic for him so no one gets run over. He always brightens my day and when I see him, he is like a magnet - I just have to go and say "hey" to him. Ray is an example to many. He absolutely exudes joy every time I see him.

Lessons Learned: We have no reason to be down. God has blessed us so much and has put folks in our lives, like Ray, to reminds us of how good we have it. Ray has joy, so why shouldn't I everyday?

Thoughts: Have you been a blessing to the Ray in your life lately? Do you have the kind of joy that Ray has all the time? Why do you let the little things get you down?