Dutch Treat

On the road that joins Wilton and Farmington Maine off to the right on the top of a small hill, there is a startling sight. It’s a building made to resemble a Dutch windmill. The white sails are made of wood, not the cloth of an authentic Dutch version, and though I’m told that they once turned with a motor, these sails are stationary.  They stand above a simple maroon building that is not full of a grinding stone or grain for a mill. This windmill is full of …. ice cream.   The Dutch Treat is an institution in that region, the foothills to the Western Mountains.  Open from April through the first few weeks of September, the Dutch Treat serves an assortment of New England favorites- frappes, sundaes, and my personal favorite– that special cone dipped in chocolaty, crunchy cereal called the Dutch Crispie.  During the years we lived in Maine, enjoying a cold concoction from the Dutch Treat became a family tradition.  The memory of those trips still fills my heart with joy.

Living a life of joy is not nearly as easy as pulling up to the window and ordering some ice cream, of course.  And while ice cream may not be the healthiest choice for our bodies, it does remind me that joy, like the pleasure we derive from eating delicious foods, comes from the inside, not the outside.  A deep sense of joy is associated with a healthy life- not just mentally, but physically also. 

I will choose to write about joy several times over the next few weeks. I stubbornly cling to joy. Permanent, long-lasting joy arises in the midst of sorrow and suffering, not cancelling it out or covering it over, but regenerating us with a sense of purpose and courage.  It may seem as incongruous to focus on joy right now as seeing a Dutch windmill in a small town in Maine, but that does not mean it doesn’t belong there. Joy has its place however we build it and wherever we make room for it.

Here’s another Dutch Treat. The words of Dutch theologian and writer Henry Nouwen won’t make our waistlines expand like too many Dutch Crispies would.  Rather, his writings will expand our minds and our hearts as we grapple with how to choose joy daily.  Dive in and enjoy the words of a wise spiritual leader.

 We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there… It is important to become aware at every moment of our life that we have an opportunity to choose joy…. It is in the choice that our true freedom lies, and that choice is in the final analysis, the freedom to love.

Joy does not simply happen to us.  We must choose joy and keep choosing it.  

 Henry Nouwen.

Joy is not something that floats around and if we catch a piece of it, we feel happy or lucky or euphoric for a few minutes.  We build joy, the recognition for it, the capacity for it and the experiencing of it through deliberate choices, not random chance.  Today’s tile is a simple one with a powerful message presented as a banner. We can raise this banner with confidence. There is a route towards joy for each of us.  

No matter what your circumstances, how might you choose joy today?

Shout with joy to God, all the earth!  Psalm 66:1