Comfort and Joy

(Birdsnow, by Natasha Garnelis)

I turned on Pandora the other day (may I just say that I think Pandora is possibly the best invention since chocolate and Coca-cola) and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” came on.  I’ve heard/sung that carol a hundred times, but the last line popped out like I’d never heard it before…..’tidings of comfort and joy’.

Comfort and joy.   They seem a bit of an odd couple, these pull-up- a-chair and relax, no wait, HAPPY DANCE, words, though I understand the connection to the baby Jesus salvation scenario.  I guess we could say that his birth was the beginning of the Jesus ‘Comfort and Joy’ tour.  Settle down you crazy dudes; life might suck now, but you have so much to look forward to if you are willing to sign up for the only-one-God salvation plan.   Comfort and joy in knowing your heavenly space in the afterlife is secure.  As insurance policies go, it has its merits.  I’ve opted out, but hey, no harm, no foul.

But, back to comfort and joy.  I find that I am growing more and more fond of these words and their relation to each other. Take comfort for example, as we (ok, I) grow older comfort is a big deal, both of body and spirit.  It’s hard to find a comfortable sleep position that doesn’t have a pain attached to it.  In these menopausal years I am constantly taking a layer off and then putting it back on as my own personal thermostat tortures me with inconsistence.  My neck hurts, as do my shoulder, hip, knees, and arm.  I’m a fine looking wreck. (Sort of fine looking for a 54 year old….kind of fine….a level of fine….oh, nevermind.)  The ’57 Chevy of your dreams on the back lot of the junk yard.   Still, every night I lay down next to my husband in that perfect curve of his arm and I know comfort.  That lovely sigh of letting go of the day and welcoming the sweetness of his safe warmth is both comfort and a quiet joy.  I am comforted by the beauty of snowfall, an evening near the fire.  Hugs from children, kisses from grandchildren, the company of friends and in each of these moments there is also joy.  Maybe they aren’t such a strange mix after all.

I suppose, as is the ying and yang of all life, to truly appreciate the wonder that is comfort and/or joy, you have to have experienced a little bit of the opposite.   Would the fierce fire of honest joy be so bright if I wasn’t acquainted with sadness?   As a child, when I would complain about something, my mother would tell me, “we have to take the good with the bad”.   Wise words that I am grateful for. 

So, I hope the Merry Gentlemen from our hymn found rest in one form or another.  The songs writer seems to be unknown, if we are to believe Wikipedia, but I appreciate his use of words.  Comfort and joy might just be two of the finest gifts this life offers and they are priceless. 

Tidings of comfort and joy, indeed! ♥

Comments

[Dana Whitney]

I like comfort, joy and strength. But strength is a hard word to sing in any sort of beautiful way.