Tuesday, December 16, 2025
The JOY of Sesame Street
By Gil Harris
In 1977, I was the target demographic for Sesame Street. In the picture above, you see me opening a Christmas present. It was a record of the most popular songs from Sesame Street. This record contained songs like “C is for Cookie”, “Doin’ the Pigeon”, “Rubber Ducky” and “I Love Trash”. I pulled the record out of the box and I was astounded to see ANOTHER record underneath! My joy doubled at having two records from my favorite TV show at the time. I pulled that record out of the box and saw ANOTHER record underneath that one. My joy tripled. You cannot see it from the picture above, but ultimately I discovered this was a 10 record set. I was young enough to not know that some television shows released music separately. I was one joyful, happy camper to have my favorites to listen to anytime I wanted to. I had that record set until I was in 8th grade, and then I donated them to the kindergarten class at my school.
I used the word “joy” to describe how I felt, and I guess it is accurate as far as it goes in this world; but true joy does not come from things, or trips, or even high-paying jobs. Those things make us happy. As a kid, I did not know there was a difference between joy and happiness and probably would not have cared that there even was a difference had I known. The definition of true joy, as defined by the Bible, “is a deep-seated gladness rooted in God, a mindset independent of circumstances that comes from a relationship with Him.” This is indicated by Nehemiah 8:10.
Christmas is a time of peace and joy. We give gifts to friends and family. We go to parties and play crazy games. We go to church and learn about the Source of all our joy. And when Eternity finally comes for us, we will experience and express true joy for our Savior whom we celebrate this time of year.
Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.
Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.