Unwrapping Advent Part 3: A Journey Filled with Joy

Tara delves into the theme of joy for the third week of Advent. She reflects on the life and legacy of her family friend, Pat, known for his exuberant joy even amidst personal struggles like his MS diagnosis. Tara shares personal anecdotes, encouraging listeners to embrace joy in everyday life, and offers practical steps to invite joy throughout the holiday season. The episode concludes with evocative questions, a poem personifying joy, and actionable suggestions to spread joy and reconnect with loved ones.

Transcript

S6 E3 Unwrapping Advent Part 3: A Journey Filled with Joy

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: [00:00:00] Welcome to Holy Shenanigans podcast. I'm your muse, Tara Lamont I'm so happy to have you here with me to discover the sacred showing up in everyday life throughout the four weeks of Advent we're reflecting on the holiday season through the lenses of hope, peace, joy, and love. And this is the third week of Advent. where joy begins on Sunday, December 15th.

Whenever I see or hear the word joy, I think of our family friend and bonus uncle, Pat. And even though Pat passed away in 2010 from complications in surgery, I think of him most every day. Pat was known for his incredible creativity, expressive demeanor, [00:01:00] love of the number 1111, And his annual dedication to the carving of 1000 pound pumpkins, as well as the goal of having the biggest home Christmas light display humanly possible throughout every season of life.

Pat was known for his ability to jump into joy

in 2003, Pat began to experience some strange symptoms of pain and heaviness in his right arm. After a long season of medical tests. And loss of work as a digital artist, he was eventually diagnosed with M. S. Amidst Pat's medical diagnosis and his economic tailspin, he remained committed to joy. He wrote, All that matters is embracing the infinite joy that shines within me.

[00:02:00] I used to spend so much time looking out the back of a train stuck in the past, mauling over all that went wrong, torturing myself for all I didn't do. When I look back, I see the path I have traveled, the great obstacles I have overcome, the incredible feats that I have accomplished. And I smile, as there is nothing on the road ahead that can even compare to the paths I have always traveled.

That ladies and gentlemen, is why I am infinitely jolly, somehow in the midst of all these challenges. Pat held on to joy and encouraged no implored that others held on to Joy too. There was a season that I stopped [00:03:00] checking in on Pat. It wasn't that I didn't want to reach out to him for heaven's sake.

Our son's middle name was Patrick in his honor, but I allowed the busyness of life to deter me from reaching out. Somehow, though, I kept thinking about Pat, about his excessive Christmas lights, and his joy. So, on a random day, I drove over to see his holiday display. I was not sure of how the visit would be received, but I hoped that somehow, some way, joy would make an appearance.

So I drove over to Pat's house, and even before I closed my car door, I heard Pat's voice joyfully exclaim. Oh, Tara, you're here. Oh, joy. There was no hint of sarcasm in Pat's voice. [00:04:00] There was absolutely no cold shoulder. The greeting he offered was true, physical, emotional, and spiritual embodiment of joy. I try to express my regret for not being as present as a friend as I should have been.

But Pat said, that was then, this is now. Today we have joy. We have joy together. And that is more than enough for me.

Always and forever, Pat's joy was grounded, hard earned, and sincere. Whenever I think of him, these words from Philippians 1, 3 help to express The joy I still feel. I thank my God for every remembrance of you, always in every one of my prayers For [00:05:00] all of you praying with joy, thanks to knowing Pat, I've learned that joy does not erase the difficulty of life, but is something to carry into all aspects of living.

Pat's graceful expression is a reminder of what is possible in our relationship. With people. And God, if we can jump into joy, joy allows room to move about the full spectrum of human experience, knowing that we are not alone. And in honor of Pat, even in the pain and grief of life, I invite you to let go of regret.

And remember, there is always room to jump into joy. To help us consider how to jump into joy, [00:06:00] I offer these questions. Where can you invite joy into both the lows and highs this week? Who do you know who is most joyful? Why do you think so? Recall a time you felt joyful. What is memorable about that experience?

A poem for week three of Advent. Joy, just outrageous you. Joy is no wallflower. She, yes she, is bold, sassy, and somewhat fearsome. Joy bursts into the room and won't stop grooving till everyone is on the dance floor. Her name is Short. But her actions are always memorable.

 Joy causes laughter to tears in only the best way. Joy is [00:07:00] unstoppable. You can't ignore her, and you must respect her. She is just. She is outrageous. She has one candle for each letter of her name. Joy will break through all barriers and bring her colorful wonder To you, and you, and you, and you. Just Outrageous You.

Joy. This week, you're invited to accept the Advent invitation of joy and be Just Outrageous You. To help you take this leap into joy, I offer these suggestions. Number one, look up a favorite cookie recipe and make the cookies.

Take out a notebook or use a [00:08:00] notebook app on your phone. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Start the timer and then make a list of things that bring you joy. Keep working on your list for the full 5 minutes. When the timer goes off, circle 5 joyful things from your list. Make a plan to jump into at least 5 joyful things.

Do you have a friend or a loved one that the busyness of life has kept you apart from? Find a way to reach out to them. Remember that the holiday season gives a perfect opportunity for reaching out with a card, a call, a text, or a visit. Number four, remember how we've been working on creating a music playlist over the past two weeks?

In [00:09:00] addition to songs of hope and peace, it's time to search for and add songs of joy to your Advent playlist. Oh joy! I like that song too. I am your holy shenanigans muse. Tara Lamond Eastman. Thank you for joining us for holy shenanigans that surprise, encourage, redirect, and turn life upside down all in the name of joy.

This is an unpredictable spiritual adventure that is always sacred, but never stuffy. Gratitude this week to Patricia and her permission to share Pat's story. To check out Pat's work, go to Grumpkins. If you've enjoyed this episode of Holy Shenanigans podcast, please let us know by sending us a text message via our buzzsprout fan mail.

 [00:10:00] Until next time, blessings to you as you unwrap Advent and all of the joy it offers.

 Oh joy, it's Advent.