Happy clappy

Blatant joy
Unabashed glee and
Unrestrained merriment
Are surprisingly
Hard to sit with.
Often off putting.
Even in bad taste sometimes.
It’s as though one’s mind is asking
“How can you be so happy
In a world of so much brokenness?
How can you still be like a child
In this way?’’
Christian joy
Is not escapism
Or tone deaf positivity,
Or reserved for the short windows
When life is going exactly to plan.
No.
This joy is an accessible resource
Born out of a heightened awareness
Of the beauty amidst the tragedy,
It is the vital energy needed daily
To wade through dark waters
In service of others without drowning ourselves
And it is held together by the stubborn hope that one day
Cosmic wonder
Will swallow every disappointment
Whole.

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