Joy is the Oxygen for Doing Hard Things
Like most of you, I keep trying to imagine SUM without PG and DD. Many of you have been through these transitions before over the years, but that does not make it any easier. I have only been a member of SUM since 2022, so these two special people are all I know. Intellectually, I understand this is one of the realities of being a Methodist, but tell that to my heart. While I was wallowing in my personal loss, I read the quote I used as the title of this essay: “Joy is the oxygen for doing hard things.” It is a quote by Gary Haugen, founder of International Justice Mission, and it spoke to my heart.
Now, as I contemplate my life at SUM after PG and DD, I stop and remember all of the joy they brought me over the past three years. Because of their messages and examples, I have grown spiritually and personally. As I think about those moments shared with them, I remember them with joy. As I hold onto that joy, I now understand I can do hard things like saying goodbye.
A couple of months ago, I shared a sermon on breath prayers. I returned to that sermon to see how I could use this process to maximize my oxygen and, in turn, my joy. I shared a quote by the author of Ash and Starlight, Arianne Braithwaite Lehn, who wrote about how she prays: “Sometimes, all I can do is groan. Sometimes, I close my eyes and smile. Sometimes I turn on a piece of music, letting it form the prayers in my heart. And sometimes, I focus on my breath, remembering it is God’s life-force right there.”
In Hebrew, the word ruach means both spirit and breath. Rob Bell explains the Hebrews “understood this ruach to be as intimate as the breath you just took and the breath you’re about to take.” So, as we transition to a world without PG and DD, with that last breath, fill your heart with the spirit of the breath you are about to take as we welcome Pastor DH and find our new joys.
Consider the changes and challenges Pastor DH will be facing as he takes over SUM. I imagine some days will be fraught with hard things, and I hope that we can provide the ‘oxygen’ he will need to find the joy in Simsbury and our congregation.
-Eileen Brogan