these guys…

pirate faces…

my brother as a father…

and that he brought us this girl.

Joy is 10 years of friendship with these girls…
that has lasted through lives that look just a little different than they once did.

Joy is this miracle turning one:

and this kind of freedom…

and this face.

Joy is fall apples sweet off the tree…

and beauty in the absolutely ordinary.

Joy is how they love and care for each other…
and know how to live well, and love well, life.

Joy is a first reunion after 5 years…

ending summer with this view…

and with these girls.

Joy is communion and friendship and grace…

phone conversations with sweet friends, and the ache that is missing so many others. Being sharpened and edified and challenged and encouraged and loved.

Joy is understanding a fraction of what Paul meant when he said, “I thank my God every time I remember you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now…”

Joy is the common love of Christ, and in that finds its source, its fuel, its meaning.

Thank you. To all who fill my life with such joy.

I cannot claim these words, but find them resonating in my heart as to the joy that is sharing in the nature of true friendship:

“Look up, friend! The world is too beautiful for my eyes alone.”
(Jer Clifton – http://www.jerclifton.com – a college friend.)