In Mary Oliver’s poem “Don’t Hesitate,” she writes:
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. . . .
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.
Some of you know that my husband Robert’s work requires a good bit of travel, which has its downsides, but one perk is that I can occasionally join him for a little adventure in a new place. We planned one such rendezvous in the San Juan Islands, near Seattle. Our hope was to explore the area’s beautiful waterways, wineries, lavender farms, and maybe spot a whale or two. Those things would ultimately happen, but not before we experienced an unlikely surprise.
On my cross-country flight to meet Robert, I received a rather cryptic text from our son, Brandon, saying he needed to talk with both of us as soon as possible. Of course, all sorts of “Mom” alarm bells sounded in my mind, and I imagined we were about to learn something either very good or very troubling. The remaining hours of my flight were excruciating as I vacillated between those extremes.
Robert and I were finally reunited late that night in the SeaTac airport, and we found a quiet spot at Gate 5A to make the call to Brandon and Kelsey. We soon learned the joyous news that Kelsey was pregnant, which was completely unexpected since they had been unable to have children and had adopted our first grandchild, Harrison. As you might imagine, we were overcome with emotion: crying, laughing, whooping and hollering to anyone in the vicinity. Even now as I type these words, tears moisten my face. I’m sure those around us were a bit wary of our euphoric behavior, but we just didn’t care—we were giving in to the joy of the moment. Harrison was going to be a big brother, and as we later learned, his beautiful baby sister would be named Zoey.
In another of Oliver’s poems, “Mindful,” she describes seeing or hearing something daily “that more or less kills me with delight.” And it’s true isn’t it, that when we are paying attention, moments of joy—whether significant life events or small, seemingly mundane ones—give us strength and resilience for all of life’s ebb and flow. We “grow wise with such teachings as these—the untrimmable light of the world, the ocean’s shine, the prayers that are made out of grass.”
Prayer: God, may we find joy in both the exceptional moments and the ordinary, common ones that come our way during this Advent season.
Cheryl has been Highland’s office manager since 2021. She and Robert have called Highland home for nearly 20 years. She loves being in the water, exploring new places, swinging on her back patio, being a Louisville Cardinal fan, taking care of her 12-year-old Sheltie, and enjoying her grandchildren.