you

April has shared with me that she often will ask God, “Why did you make me the way you did?” Perhaps you have wondered the same thing about you. April finds tackling some subjects and issues in life challenging. It bothers her when others don’t struggle with those same things.

That is when I start reminding April that she is unique and has the strengths that others desire. For instance, she has this unbelievable talent for cooking these amazing dishes from leftover ingredients in the refrigerator. I had an uncle who once confessed to me that he would make chili from whatever he found in his frig. Needless to say, he also admitted that some of those items were past their expiration date, but he didn’t want to waste them by throwing them out. I never ate his chili!

April is indeed an excellent cook! I’m a lucky man! She is also a good teacher. Young children love her and respond when she speaks. But even in general, children are drawn to April. I believe this is because she is full of God’s love. They sense His presence on her and are attracted to her. Then, there is a particular kind of innocence about her. I can stand still in the entryway of a room and watch her. Then, whenever she sees me, she lights up with the cutest, sweetest smile you have ever seen. April was fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:13-16 (MSG)

^13-16Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

No one else could be April. God made her unique. He has gifted her like no other. She also operates with the spiritual gift of discernment. She can meet someone and know about them or their motives. As my helpmate, something I have learned to rely on. As her namesake, “April Joy,” she brings a lot of happiness into our home. God made you unique, too. He designed you for his purposes. If you are struggling with life, then perhaps you are really struggling with letting God have control.

April isn’t perfect, though. God is still working on her, as He is with all of us. Don’t be puzzled. There may be pieces missing in us—pieces that God will put in place in his timing. One thing is for sure: one day, we will be complete with all the pieces in their proper place.

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Phil. 1:6 (MSG)

J = Jesus
O = others
Y = you

You accept Jesus, make him the most important person in your life, read the book his father wrote, and learn to take on his nature, then “joy” begins. The next step in finding real “joy” is putting others before yourself.

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.
Mat. 22:37-39 (MSG)

This is the formula for finding “joy”, not just at Christmas time, but all year round. Serving others brings “joy” as well. Another way to find “joy” is to marry it. You see I was divorced for 24 years. I was content with that, well most of the time, but I longed for joy. My first marriage had its good moments, but I always felt in my heart that it could be better. And now I know I was right. You see my second wife’s name is, “April Joy”. I have said it before, but when I am doing my part, to love her as Christ loves the church, then she fills my life with so much “joy” words cannot describe. She knows the formula for “joy”, and she is so full of the love of God in her life. That love oozes out and covers others.

Yes, it’s Christmas, and certainly “Joy to the World” indeed, but if you want real “joy” that can last a lifetime then pursue Jesus, love others, and love yourself.