The focus for the third week of Advent is on joy. How can we bring joy to our couple relationship this year during the difficult time of COVID-19? The song “Joy is Like the Rain” by the Medical Mission Sisters can give us some insight:
I saw raindrops on my window, joy is like the rain. Laughter runs across my pain, slips away, and comes again. Joy is like the rain.
I saw clouds upon a mountain. Joy is like a cloud, sometimes silver, sometimes gray, always sun not far away. Joy is like a cloud.
I saw Christ in wind and thunder. Joy is tried by storm, Christ asleep within my boat. Whipped by wind yet still afloat. Joy is tried by storm.
I saw raindrops on a river. Joy is like the rain, bit by bit the river grows, till all at once it overflows. Joy is like the rain.
How do we cultivate joy for ourselves and each other? Maybe it is as simple as sharing our own joy when we experience it. We can ask our partner what brings joy to you? These conversations alone may make you more aware of the joy that both of you feel. As the song says, joy ebbs and flows in intensity, but it is always there to be shared.
Here are a few suggestions for finding and sharing your joy:
- In nature, watching birds or sunsets
- In children, playing or working on a project
- In music, listening or providing it
- In art, looking at it or being creative
- In the home, cooking a meal together, working in the garden
- In participating in a project or cause, raising money for homeless, building a house for Habitat
- Tell your partner how much they mean to you
Make your own lists and share with each other.
Do not forget to speak up and share the experience with your partner when you are feeling joy.
Carl and Nancy Terry