Joy That Flickers
“Remain vigilant to welcome secretly the sources of divine murmuring. Don’t go hurriedly…Everything comes to meet you. The Creation throbs with God. Everything sings and shouts with joy!”
by Josi Larson
Dear Holy Flame,
If ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’, (thank you, Emily Dickinson)
Then Joy is the thing that flickers!
When have we felt that flicker?
Snuggled up deep in a lap,
Looking at the ocean for the first time,
Smelling bread baking in the oven,
Tasting a really good pasta dish,
Or hearing your baby’s laugh!
Thank you for how You made our senses fire up with joy.
That flare of joy that perhaps stops your heart for a beat or two.
Joy can flicker, flame, or even burn.
Help us sense that warming of joy
That melts into a smile.
May we notice when our hearts are burning
Like the two on the road home to Emmaus.
Joy tells us that we can be sure
That You, Jesus, are near.
May we learn to sit under Your long loving gaze
Enjoying the warmth of Your Presence.
For we know that ‘In Your Presence is fullness of joy.’ (Ps. 16:11)
Amen and Amen.
Josi Larson is a wife, mother, grandmother, spiritual director, Ignatian accompaniment, Downing House worker bee, and German Shepherd lover.
