The Joy Dialogue

Helen Francis

Delight in Me,
as I delight in you.
I brought all this to be,
because it was a joyful thing to do,
and joy is woven into every part,
not least in the believer's heart,
where it will live and light and warm,
throughout the cold, and dark and harm.
No one can take it from you,
whatever may befall,
always MY joy is in you,
do not forget the call of pure delight
that brought it all to be,
residing deep within you,
as you delight in Me.

The best secret we share is Joy,
my God and I smile to each other through it,
it is a perpetual present from Him to me
and I can love Him with it,
and He can delight me in it,
and we can share the happiness he meant for me to have,
through that gift of joy in His love.
And when I look around me
I see the world was made
with just that joy in mind.
So that we can wriggle our toes in warm sand,
and watch fat white clouds blow by,
or hear mewing seagulls cry,
and understand... joy.

Joy is woven through the grasses on the moors,
it's clumped into smooth pebbles on the beach,
it's stamped in delight,
on a zebra's skin in stripes,
and dropped into the sweet juice of a peach.
It is joy that turns the autumn leaves to brown,
it is joy that rides the backs of crashing seas,
it is joy which freezes long ice fingers down,
and whoops with pleasure on a springtime breeze.
For joy God loved you and He chose you,
For joy He claimed you for His own,
For joy He plumbed His own joy in you,
for joy He draws you to His throne.

F.H.S. ‘07