Rejoice always...

There's an old saying: "Joy is an ineffable sign of God's presence."  I shared in one of the previous blogs that I had attended a going away party.  It's for a sister who is leaving Botswana to return home to Lesotho.  Her name is Sister Mahali (pronounced Muh-ha-dee).  We always wound up sitting together at Mass and chatting, and I always thought she was a woman of great faith.  But for the first 2 weeks I was here, I never knew she was a sister...imagine my embarrassment when I arrived at the going away party to find out it was for her...and that she was a sister! When I told her, she laughed and laughed and said, "I knew you didn't know I was a sister!  I knew it."

I thought of that quote about joy because she is one of the most joyful people I have ever met.  If the Batswana are always laughing, she laughs more...and louder!  But more than being a joyful person, she brings that joy to others.  She is truly a Christian woman.  I've talked a lot about how much joy the people here exude.  Joy and laughter seem to be part of their being.  But more than having joy is the fact that they (and Sr. Mahali) spread it.  Their joy is not in being joyful, but in making others joyful.  Isn't that the sign of a Christian?  Not only in lifting up others, but in being joyful ourselves.  She reminded me that if we believe that Christ is present in our lives and that we we experience him day after day, then why are we so dour or filled with worry about things that, in the end, are not really important? Something for all of us to think about...

Thank you, Sr. Mahali, for showing me what it means to be a truly joyful servant of God.  You've reminded me that our vocation is to share joy with others...and in sharing that joy, to help them find the God present in their lives who rejoices in having made them the beautiful people they are.

Peace.