The first full week of February we had the joy of going on a bear hunt as a school community in honor of our Saint Anne House Heads’ birthdays. Students of all ages put every ounce of effort and energy into this hunt for small plastic bears bearing their house colors. The determination and excitement of our students’ pursuit were admirable. They looked forward to recess more than ever as they all wanted to find just one bear for their house in hopes of winning the competition. Their joyful energy was contagious, so much so that I told fellow house heads that we as a staff needed an opportunity to do the same. I said it mostly as a joke because, as adults, we do not have time for fun just for the sake of fun, right? That’s for children.   

Modern adults do not set aside much time for delightful fun for the simple sake of pursuing joy. We occupy ourselves with tasks and appointments saying we are too busy for fun and joy because it is just not productive. We are always in a hurry to check off a task, finish a project, or get to the next thing. We do not want to interrupt our productivity with frivolous little scavenger hunts. We have too much to do!   

This need for productivity really boils down to how worried we are and how much control we desire to have over our lives. Christ tells us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.” (Matthew 6:34)  

Of course, Christ is our ultimate example and should be our goal when it comes to being present in any given moment. When you reflect on so many of Christ’s miracles, He was on his way somewhere else to do something else. He already had a plan before He was interrupted, and He took the time to attend to those in His presence.   

While we may not be offering miraculous healings to those around us, we should take the time to at least make room for them to happen if that is God’s will! Perhaps our joyful presence could bring someone else closer to Christ. Our worry often only drags us down into worldly despair. When we turn to the Word of God, we are not only given examples of being present with those around us, but we are commanded over and over to be joyful because, “this is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24). We’ve been given this day with these people. Yes, we have work to do, but we can do our best to balance our work with moments of joyful communion with those around us.  

All of this to say, no matter how bogged down we feel by our to-do lists or how annoying it may feel to be interrupted by unscheduled events and visitors, we must do our best to find the joy in the day and the community the Lord has given us. Don’t rush just to be done with it all. Really try to find what’s interesting, joyful, or beautiful in the now. And when someone at the end of Faculty Symposium says the staff gets to go on an adults-only House Bear Hunt for just 5 minutes, take the time to run, search, and laugh, with those around you instead of rushing out to do the next thing on your list. The joy you find will be worth it.