To be honest, most of the time I am definitely not what I would consider to be a good example of joy. It’s not that I’m grumpy or a miserable person; it’s just that I often fall short of being cheerful and positive. I can be selfish and self-focused. It’s a weakness of being human, but that’s not an excuse.
There is someone who I think deserves to be honored as an example of joy, and that’s my brother Timmy. He has Down syndrome, and we’ve always called him the star of our family. He has such a simple view of the world, a pure and rosy way of looking at everything.
And he’s joyful. So joyful! If I tell one joke, he laughs like I’ve done an entire stand-up comedy routine. If we find something that he does funny, he doubles down and does it again and again, because he loves to make us smile. When we play sports, anything worth celebrating he celebrates with the whole team, and he will get a high-five from each and every player.
Of course, he has his moments; he hates waking up on time. (Don’t we all!) He sometimes is in a bad mood. But really, I’ve never seen him have a bad day. He’s just unbeatable.
And the thing about joy—and in particular Jesus’ joy—is that it’s ridiculously contagious. The times I’ve seen Timmy turn the most down-in-the-mouth, serious-looking faces into laughing, smiling faces are innumerable. When we do food distribution in the informal settlements, he will give hugs, dance with the people standing in line, and sometimes even sing. He has no fear, no worry about others’ opinions, he just goes around being friendly and sweet and gleeful, and it changes people. They love it! They become joyful, too.
So even though Joy is my middle name, it’s my brother Timmy who shows me what it looks like to be known as a joy. I want to be like him.