"Joy In the Morning" - Psalm 30 - February 16, 2003

Recently I saw an ad on television where a man was "singing in the rain." It’s obviously from the movie where Gene Kelley was singing and dancing while it was pouring down rain. The ad is about a satellite television system and the man throws his old TV in a trash can. A police officer comes by, gives him the evil eye, and the guy quits dancing and moves on.

The ad gives you the impression that "singing in the rain" is abnormal or perhaps even illegal. It’s not customary for people to be joyful when the weather is bad. Most everyone I have talked with the past two months have been expressing their dismay because of all the cold and snow. I haven't observed anyone, "dancing or leaping for joy."

In fact, like most of you, I am getting tired of all the cold weather. It seems like all I do is shovel, throw salt and chip ice off the car windows. It hasn’t been a winter to be rejoicing. Its a winter we want to end, and soon.

The winter has actually made some people depressed. There is a sense of hopelessness due to the fact that winter isolates us. That denies us our independence to do what ever we want. It also forces us to slow down, walk and drive more cautiously, thus slowing down the fast pace we normally take for granted. The bad weather has also interrupted our routines, postponed events, delayed others and even canceled some. None of these have motivated us to be joyful, let alone "dance in the streets."

When we are isolated we are not free to go where we would like. Isolation also keeps us from seeing our friends. It can be very frustrating. We feel as though we have been "cut off" from the rest of the world. Dancing for joy is the last thing on our minds. Instead we find ourselves being couch potatoes or spending more time in bed. For some, a sense of hopelessness and despair sets in.

In the Psalm we find David, "Crying for help." David was feeling very low, "his soul in Sheol," living as though he was in a great pit. David was stuck, helpless, really down in the dumps. David’s cry for help is heard and he praises God for lifting him from the doldrums. Exactly why he was in the pit cannot be determined. We do know, however that the experience humbled him and he recognized God as the one who could liberate him.

Perhaps David realizes he was imperfect, broken, all bruised and very vulnerable. Life in the pit becomes a "reality check" for David as he is forced to face his predicament. By turning to God with praise his life takes on a completely new perspective. This leads to newness and David responds by dancing.

Many years ago a boy was born in Russia who thought himself to be so ugly, he was certain there would be no happiness for him in life. He bemoaned the fact that he had a wide nose, thick lips, small gray eyes, and big hands and feet. He was so distraught about his ugliness, he asked God to work a miracle and turn him into a handsome man. He vowed that if God would do this, he would give God all he possessed.

The Russian boy was Count Tolstoy, one of the world’s foremost authors in the 20th century, perhaps best known for his epic War and Peace. In one of his books, Tolstoy admits that through the years he discovered that the beauty of physical appearance he had once sought was not the only beauty in life. Indeed it was not the best beauty. Instead, Tolstoy came to regard the beauty of a strong character as having the greatest good in God’s sight. (from God’s Little Devotional Book for Men, Honor Books, Tulsa, OK)

The fact that Tolstoy could not change his outward appearance became his reality check. Instead he used his talent to write one of the best classics of all time.

We may not have the talent to write a great book in the midst of winter. Nevertheless, we don’t have to let isolation prevent us from calling upon God for help and experience the joy of being creative.

To become those who dance instead of those who live without joy we have to be willing to take some steps. Lin and I once took some lessons in ballroom dancing while on a cruise several years ago. We weren’t very good and we often stepped on each other’s feet. We learned through that experience that you have to let yourself go. Dancing is more than just remembering a pattern of steps, its giving yourself permission to live outside the box. Most of the others in our group were no better than we. I think what really inhibited our ability to dance was not our ability, but the fear of others watching and seeing us make mistakes. However, there were moments when we were successful and the fun and joy we felt as we danced gave us a sense of truly being together and really alive.

When bad weather happens it forces us to change our routines or slow down our pace. The reason we have so many accidents on snow-covered roads is because people continue to drive at the normal speed limits. One night last week I was driving on route 47, returning from Greenville. The wind was blowing snow across the highway and there were times when I had to reduce my speed to less than half to keep control. The trip normally takes 45 minutes. When I arrived home I looked at my watch and noticed that I had made the trip in only 40 minutes. The bad weather forced me to slow down but apparently kept slower traffic at home. Being cautious and accepting the hazardous road conditions actually saved my time.

We are not accustomed to slowing down our pace. We don’t like to be interrupted nor do we like cancellations. There was an article in the Dayton Daily News last week about school closings, due to inclement weather. The writer was questioning why we don’t cancel basketball games when we cancel school. Seems like a good question to me. Apparently we are able to find a way when we want to. Or perhaps we have a problem with priorities.

The problem with winters like this one is that it never seems to end. The temperature has remained under freezing just about every day since Christmas. I believe people become depressed not because the weather is cold but because they are impatient. They want spring and they want it NOW!

Notice that David said that "God’s anger is but for a moment." Crises do not last forever just as winter will not last forever. Soon there will be flowers spring up, birds returning and warmer weather. It just takes a little patience.

As David said, "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio