Perhaps the answer to the question, “How can we find joy in times like these?” lies in our willingness to be brave. Maybe joy is there all along, waiting to be claimed, waiting to flicker like light, waiting to be expressed and experienced in moments of connection and in times when God draws near. Maybe joy is all around, even in the midst of our suffering… maybe it’s been there all along, waiting for us to become brave enough to sing it’s joyful song?

Joy is a mystery because it can happen anywhere,
anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in
the midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes.

Frederick Buechner