Sharing Joy

We had our Victorian Christmas Ball in December, and while we were cleaning up, a first time attendee approached me and said, “I want to thank you for this wonderful event. There is not a lot of joy in my life right now, and this event brought me joy. I brought just my daughter to this dance, but I have a wife and two other children, and I want to bring them to the next Ball so that they can experience this.” Joy! I’m sure that it looks like I am teaching dance steps at the Ball, but one of my deeper motives is to share joy.

I read once that one of the ways to be happy is to think of ten things that you are thankful for before you get out of bed in the morning. I grew up in the city, and now when I wake up in the morning, I see the leaves of large oak trees outside my window. I listen to the chickens and goats and am thankful to live in this beautiful area. My kids used to listen to Veggie Tales CD’s, and one song that has “stuck” with our family (and is sung to anyone who is having a grumpy moment) has the line, “A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart.”

I was recently rereading The Joyful Christian by C.S. Lewis. In it there is a quote that says, “Do you love me? means Do you see the same truth? – or at least, ‘Do you care about the same truth?’ The man who agrees with us that some (thing) … is of great importance can be our friend.”

As I think about all of you who attend the balls, I am thankful and joyful that we see the same truth: the truth that our families and friends are worth spending time with and that our children are worth the time it takes to teach them manners and etiquette. I hope that our upcoming events bring you much joy!