WISHING YOU A JOY FOR 2024
Could a joy change your life's trajectory? Bring hope and encouragement to others? Even be the light in a darkened world? We could all use a joy!
Wishing a joy? Is that a typo, idiom or just ignorance? I am happy to say it is none of those. First a little trip through my history. In 2017 I was fired from my teaching position without due process. It was the full stop to a 46 year career. Simply put, I was bullied by my department colleagues and the administration for nine years. So I did not fight my dismissal. I sadly crept into the sunset.
As the months progressed into 2018 and 2019, I floundered. What was my next chapter’s purpose? Did I have an identity other than a retired teacher? I got it! I’ll write a book about my life as a teacher. Rescue the Teacher, Save the Child! published in 2019, provided me with speaking engagements and book signings until…you guessed it…the infamous 2020. My eye doctor botched my cataract surgery, the nation shut down, the world shut down and so, who cares what a retired educator thinks. For the next two years, my life experience was very similar to everyone else: buckle down, stay well and survive this.
After the pandemic began to wane, I joined a gym. If I hoped to find my identity there, I would be sorely disappointed. Taking dance classes, moving from the weight training room to swimming pool produced an incredibly lonely time. For the first months of 2022, no one in my gym classes acknowledged my presence or ever spoke to me. In transparency, I never bothered to reach out to anyone either. The gym appeared to be a place where zombies roamed in search of the body perfection, never speaking nor smiling. I was nameless and invisible.
Little did I comprehend how the summer of 2022 would change my perspective and ultimately change the trajectory of my life. I experienced a joy! A lady in my aerobic pool class actually asked my name. The following day, she called me by name and suggested I join her before class began. Through the passing of several days we discovered we both were published authors, married, with grandchildren. Well you get it, commonality is the first step to friendship. Oprah Winfrey said it even better: The commonality in the human experience is the same. We have the same sorrows and the same triumphs. Joy is joy is joy.
Which brings me to joy. Is it a psychological feeling, a fleeting moment of euphoria or… God knew I needed some prompting to get on with my life so He brought me Joy. The lady who learned my name at the pool and remembered it the next day is Joy and she changed my life for the better.
What is remarkable about Joy? She smiles and speaks to everyone. Learning and retaining people’s names is important to her. Joy is an authentic human being who boldly loves God and openly prays for folks when they are in desperate need of answers and healing. I wish you a Joy for 2024: someone who enters your orbit and is ever-present to encourage your metamorphic transition to a loving human being, void of religious or political bigotry. Our country needs you and me to stop hating people whose opinions differ from ours. We can become a Joy!
How has Joy singlehandedly changed me? I remind myself daily, sometimes minute by minute, that I need to smile at strangers. When I spend even a fraction of time with my fellow humans, knowing their name is paramount for continued connection. But here is the best part: at any given moment, sometimes mid-sentence, if Joy feels someone needs a prayer, she fearlessly and openly lifts that person up in prayer. These moments of communicating with God happen in restaurants, Starbucks and yes, the gym pool! At first I felt a little awkward. My faith is steeped in my relationship with Jesus Christ. But my actions and more specifically prayers leaned toward the silent, private kind.
My transformation has taken over a year. Smiling at the unknown human can be daunting. Calling someone by their name and asking them about their life situation requires diligence and a priority of remembering those important things which each person has professed. But could I actually pray in a public place for someone? Yes! It is and continues to be the most exhilarating, emotional and electrifying moment which connects me to a direct circuit with God.
I can almost hear you rolling your eyes! Can prayers possibly work? Is there really a God who cares? Am I able to extend myself in this very public way? I could reiterate many accounts since I’ve immersed myself in praying for my fellow humans. But in case your skepticism doesn’t have the time, I will limit it.
I found a lady, whom I didn’t know well, standing alone in a large hall. I asked her if she was all right. At first, I thought it a mistake. She prattled on and on about her malaises from her teeth to her toes. I started disconnecting as I certainly didn’t have time for a health report. Thankfully the God whispers, which I previously ignored, implored me to listen. And listen I did for about 10 minutes. When she let out her final breath of anxieties, I asked myself “What would Joy do?” And so I put my arm around this lady, prayed out loud God would comfort her and send her peace. A week later, when I asked her how things were going, she told me that her trip to the dentist and health issues produced a calm she had never experienced before. To answer those doubters: prayers do work, God does care and yes, speaking boldly for the healing of this lady produced a profound result. Praying enables me to reach out to anyone who is suffering. And who couldn’t use a prayer during these days of tribulation! Contemplate this: Do peoples’ lives intersect yours who could use a genuine lifting of their soul? My guess is yes.
There is a younger woman who became a part of our gym group. She shared her struggles and asked for suggestions. In the parking lot, I put my arm around her and said I would pray for her. I sensed that while God was a part of her belief system, the power of prayer may have seemed pointless. Fast forward several months. She accepted Jesus into her heart and was baptized. Witnessing the power of prayer is unlike any emotion you will ever experience.
So I’m a retired teacher who blogs and podcasts things educational. What does all of this have to do with teaching? It is not complicated!
Smile at everyone you come in contact with throughout the day.
Praying out loud in the public schools will get you a new job fast. But lifting up silent prayers on behalf of your students and fellow teachers should be a constant in your teaching life.
Learn those names! Never excuse your perceived inability to remember names. Names are important if you truly wish to connect and extend authentic friendship.
I wish you a Joy in 2024. Even better, I hope you become a Joy! When you sense those around you are hurting, ask yourself: WWJD? (What would Joy do?) At the very least, be purposeful in your smile, and establish eye contact. Learn and retain names. If you haven’t already done so, I challenge you to form a relationship with Jesus and God the Father. Not a religion. A relationship. Pray openly for wisdom and discernment in your own life. While I hope 2024 brings you the peace which surpasses human understanding, there are two wars, open borders insanity, high crime and the rollercoaster economy which may certainly bring anxiety and a feeling of emptiness. I know for a fact that God can fill that void. Max Lucado said it best: ”Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.”
Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness. Leo Tolstoy