“The celestial messenger immediately calmed them and said, "You have no reason to fear! Listen! I have the most wonderful announcement to make - this will lead to the great encounter of the most joyful bliss for every single person on the planet! Luke 2:10
When Aelea and I sat down to plan this year's Advent Half Day Retreat, we knew we wanted to explore one of the four traditional themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, or Love. We spent time exploring Peace at our Peace on Earth Retreat last year, so we were ready to turn our attention to one of the others. But which one? Joy came up pretty quick….It seems we could all use a little more joy these days.
We tossed around ideas and talked through possibilities of how to present the theme. Then Aelea had an idea: What if we let the lyrics of a Christmas carol guide our brainstorming? And just like that, we found ourselves singing the familiar words:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
We knew this was it!
Joy to the World.
These lyrics offer us an invitation. One that feels especially meaningful in the middle of a season that can be as exhausting as it is exciting and brutal as it is beautiful. An invitation to receive Jesus, who is our Joy! To make room. To remember that God has come near. Immanuel.
What if Christmas Joy is something we receive, not manufacture?
I think we all know the answer to this question. We know it in our heads. But do we know it in our bones? Have we allowed this truth to take root so deeply that it shapes the way we actually live? Because it's one thing to say that Jesus is our joy when life feels good and everything seems to be falling into place. It's another to hold onto that truth when we're scrolling past Instagram influencers with their perfectly decorated homes, hearing about the extravagant gifts our friends are buying their kids, or watching those picture-perfect Hallmark moments seemingly unfold in everyone else's lives.
Will our joy be tossed about like a boat in a stormy sea? Or can we anchor ourselves in the deeper truth that our joy isn't dependent on everything going right? That the God of the Universe is still with us, still for us, and still the source of a joy that circumstances cannot take away?
The Christmas season offers so many little sparks of joy: twinkling lights, favorite songs, festive gatherings, the excitement of giving gifts, and the beauty of traditions we return to year after year. There is goodness in these things, and I hope we get to savor them. But those sparks can fade. The calendar fills up. The to-do list grows. The expectations pile on. Not to mention all the hard and heavy things going on in and around us. And sometimes, in the very season when we're celebrating the coming of Christ, the MOST WONDERFUL ANNOUNCEMENT that God is with us and for us, we find ourselves rushing right past the wonder of it all. We can get so caught up in creating Christmas that we forget to receive it.
The deepest joy of Christmas isn't something we have to manufacture, purchase, or achieve. It’s not dependent on everything going according to plan, our homes being beautifully decorated, or our hearts feeling particularly merry. It’s also not a forced happiness or a dismissal of life's hardships, but a deeper joy rooted in the enduring presence of Love. A joy that can coexist with grief, uncertainty, and longing. A joy that reminds us we are not alone. A joy that makes us more loving, more compassionate, and more alive to the goodness all around us.
Joy begins when we encounter the truth that God is with us and for us.
The angel's announcement to the shepherds wasn't a reminder that they needed to get their act together or find a reason to be happy. It was good news of joyful bliss: Immanuel had come! God was drawing near to humanity, stepping into our ordinary, complicated, broken and beautiful world to dwell among us.
Jesus is our Joy. Not because life is always joyful, but because God's love is not dependent on our circumstances. In Jesus, we are reminded that we have always been loved, are loved right now, and will always be held in that love.
This is the joy at the heart of Christmas. It isn't something we have to create or earn. It is a gift we are invited to receive.
Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room.
Preparing room for Jesus doesn't necessarily mean adding one more thing to an already full Advent calendar. Not even an Advent devotional. Perhaps it means doing a little less. Becoming a little quieter. Loosening our grip on the things we think we need to control. Making space to notice the One who is already here.
At Wild Sanctuary, we believe that sometimes we need to slow down enough to remember what has been true all along: God is present in our bodies, in our breath, in the natural world, in one another, and in the quiet places within us. So we are creating a space where you simply get to show up in your very own good body, with your very own good breath, remember, and make room to receive.
And Heaven and Nature Sing,
Here’s a joyful thought….it doesn't stop with our individual hearts! The song keeps expanding until all creation joins in: And heaven and nature sing!
There is something beautiful about remembering that the story of Christmas is not just about us. The God who comes near, is the same God who breathes life into creation, meets us in the rhythms of the seasons, and invites us to recognize the sacred woven throughout the world around us.
Joy is personal, but it is never meant to stay contained within us.
As we receive the love of God more deeply, we become more available to share that love with others. As we make room for Christ in our own hearts, we may begin to see our neighbors, our communities, and even the earth itself with renewed tenderness.
This Advent, we're creating space to do just that. Through restorative and flow yoga, silence, contemplation, creativity, and community, we'll slow down and explore these familiar carol lyrics in a new way. We'll wonder together about what it means to receive the joy of Jesus, prepare room for His presence, and allow that joy to take root in our embodied lives.
Advent Half-Day Retreat…
As Advent approaches, we invite you to step away from the rush of the season and join us for our Joy to the World Advent Half Day Retreat.
You don't need to arrive feeling joyful. You don't need to leave your worries at the door or pretend that this season is easy. Just come as you are, with whatever you're carrying, and allow yourself the gift of a sacred pause. Because the joy we're seeking isn't another thing to add to our Christmas preparations.
It's a gift already given. A Presence already near. A Love that has come to dwell among us. May we make room to receive it.
Will you join us?
