Scripture: Romans 12:12-15
Precious Little Joy.
Her name was Joy, but her father Joe, a mechanic, always called her “my precious little Joy” because she was born on Christmas Day, 1955. Her mama was Jody, a seamstress. Joe and Jody had waited so long for their Joy. Thinking that there was a good chance that Joy would be born on, or close, to Christmas, Joe went out and cut down a cedar tree and decorated it with colorful lights warm to the touch. That was the first thing he showed Joy when she came home. Her eyes sparkled but could not see.
Joy was born blind. As she grew, Joe put up a tree every year for Joy and taught her how to tell the difference in the colors of the lights by touching them. She called red – Joy of Love, green – Joy of earth, blue – Joy of Blue, but white, you called sad. From that day forward, no white (sad) bulbs were allowed on Joy’s tree.
Every Christmas eve, they loved to watch Joy touch each light on her tree and call out her happy name for it. Christmas 1968, I came home sad with the news that Joy had been killed while walking home by a drunk driver. I hated going to see Joe and Jody, but I had to.
I was surprised to see the Christmas tree in their window but saddened that it only had white bulbs on it. I hugged Joe and Jody, and all three of us cried. Suddenly, I ran out of the house and drove to pick up my friends Ken and Gary. We all piled in my ’59 Ford. We stopped at a Rose’s store. We went back to Joe and Jody’s and took every white light bulb out off that string of lights and replaced them with the colored bulbs we had just bought.
Joe and Jody just stood and cried as we showed Joy the joy she had given us in our lives, especially at Christmas, by touching each new bulb and calling out its happy color. This Christmas, when you see colored Christmas lights, stop and feel the warmth of the Joy that Christ had given “precious little Joy” and to each of us. Let us all surround ourselves and those around us with the joy Christ brings as written in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice”.
Richard Davis is married to Gayle and is a lover of guitars.