With Joy

Tonight Jerry sat there in his chair, tears were welled up in his eyes. It would be a couple of minutes before an uncontrolled tear would begin to fall out of his eye, to be swept away with his hand. His nose pinkened slightly. Those tears, usually reserved for sadness, were not for such at all...in fact, that tear was for his Dad. Jerry's Dad is a man of joy. Jerry says that despite diabetes and an array of other such debilitating diseases, his Father is a man of extreme, constant JOY. He said that his Father was an Ecclesiastes 12-13 man.

"I know that here is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in ones lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks see good in all his labor it is the gift of God."

I thought it sort of ironic that Jerry felt in such awe over his Dad being so joyous when Jerry too is a model of joy and ever faithfulness to us all! Jerry sat there speaking of his Dad in his chair...his WHEEL CHAIR . The wheel chair that he has been bound to and dependent on for decades since a football injury rendered him a quadriplegic. If the story ended with Jerry as a young man, battling inner demons for being cursed to a wheel chair for the rest of his life, we all might think that anyone could feel at least some bitterness for that to happen. Not Jerry. I'm not saying that Jerry hasn't probably had moments of sadness and grief. Who doesn't? But to talk to Jerry, one only hears of his love for his Lord and for his family.
Why is it that a person who is completely able bodied would feel inclined to go to someone like Jerry for advise and hope? Because Jerry is a very wise, God fearing man that has known God's greatest mercies and love and is not ashamed to share his experiences.
Jerry, although he has been limited physically to an extent, has managed to complete college, develop a wonderful ministry where he teaches teenagers at a private school, he is married and has two very beautiful children. Jerry has been blessed a million times over and he KNOWS IT! To see Jerry talk about his Faith and to share the Word of God is truly a treat! It will only take just a minute before the widest grin flashes over Jerry's face, expressing the great JOY that he has for the Lord!
One day, I can see Jerry's son or daughter speaking to a crowd, sharing the Word or their testimony and also expressing the admiration that they have for their Father Jerry, who always had the greatest smile on his face and WORDS of JOY to share! They would say that Jerry was an inspiration to them and to anyone that came in contact with him. They would feel a great sense of fulfillment when they could add that their Dad was one of the greatest examples of a Christian that they knew. They too will have tears well up in their eyes and in only a minute, one will begin to fall.