Honestly, this is a weird time for me.

I got married to my wonderful Nick at the end of last year and, just as we were were emerging from our “honeymoon bubble”, COVID-19 hit and we went right back into isolation with each other.

While I have felt the anxiety and uncertainty of the pandemic, this year feels kind of like a joyful never-ending honeymoon!

The interesting thing I’m discovering about joy – especially as experienced in the middle of a crisis when so many other things have changed or been lost – is that it can feel scary to lean into.

Brené Brown says that joy is the most vulnerable emotion. That it often brings with it a sense of fragility because we don’t want to experience the pain of losing it.

Joy feels scary to lean into. Especially when it’s experienced alongside loss and uncertainty. But what if, like so many things, “scary” is a reason to lean in rather than away?

I found something the other day that has given me the courage to lean into joy.

I was reading Psalm 23 and was struck by verse 6:

“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.”

I realised that not only does “all the days of my life” include today, but it means that, no matter what, God’s goodness and love will still be there for me in the future.

And given I believe that true joy bubbles up from experiencing that ever-present goodness and love, it means that joy will be available to me all the days of my life. Even when it co-exists with pain.

We don’t have to be afraid of losing joy.

Instead, as Brené Brown suggests, we can practice gratitude, having our eyes open and our hearts thankful for the many forms of God’s goodness and love in our lives, and in so doing expand our capacity for and experience of joy.

So let’s stay wide-eyed and grateful. Even in the midst of uncertainty, let’s not let this crisis take away our joy in the good things we have.

Because the source of our joy isn’t going anywhere.

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