{"id":3735,"date":"2024-06-12T07:50:37","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T11:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3735"},"modified":"2024-06-12T07:51:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T11:51:41","slug":"a-joyful-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/12\/a-joyful-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"A Joyful Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>

Like the contractors and foremen who are hoping to hire workers, Jesus Morales occasionally drops by one of the southern California parking lots or street corners where unemployed laborers gather early every morning, hoping to be chosen for a day\u2019s work.

But the 27-year-old doesn\u2019t take any workers to a construction site or harvest field.

After inviting three Spanish-speaking migrants to join him in his SUV, Morales tells them, \u201cWe\u2019re going to Disneyland.\u201d

They\u2019ve never heard that one before. \u201cWe\u2019ll pay you for the day,\u201d Morales assures them. \u201cBut what are we going to do there?\u201d one asks, puzzled. \u201cEnjoy the park,\u201d he replies. \u201cThat\u2019s all.\u201d

As Catherine E. Shoichet recently reported on CNN\u2019s webpage, Jesus Morales is proof that not everyone trying to earn a living by posting videos on TikTok is attempting to invent new dance moves. Morales, who\u2019s known in the world of social media as Juixxe<\/em> \u2013 a nod to his childhood nickname \u201cJuice\u201d \u2013 has gathered upwards of 5 million followers and more than 160 million likes.

What\u2019s the big attraction?

Morales\u2019 fans can\u2019t get enough of his homemade videos documenting acts of extraordinary kindness to people who rarely get to enjoy happy surprises. Since last year, when he first took a handful of day laborers to Disneyland, Jesus has taken about 50 workers to the Anaheim theme park. He has also arranged for special trips to concerts and ballgames, given street vendors crazy tips (as much as $1,000) and even bought one impoverished entrepreneur his own food truck.

Juixxe\u2019s TikTok devotees have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to make it all happen.

He happily acknowledges, \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s most surprising, how powerful the internet is, and how awesome it can be when you utilize it for good.\u201d

Why are people so deeply touched by this makeshift street ministry of happiness?

Maybe it\u2019s the testimonies. \u201cI don\u2019t remember the last time I\u2019ve had a day for myself,\u201d says a Latina housekeeper. An older man wearing Mickey Mouse ears declares, \u201cI\u2019ve never had an experience like this, even as a kid. I feel very happy.\u201d In one of the videos a worker tells Morales that he actually helped build part of Disneyland, but he had never had the chance to visit as a guest.

Morales notes that one thing always grabs his heart during these special trips: the laughter.

Note the expressions of joy and gratitude in the images that accompany this reflection. Jesus, by the way, is in the picture on the left. He\u2019s the young man sitting in the second row of the roller coaster on the right. \u201cThat\u2019s the thing that always gets me,\u201d he says, \u201cseeing or hearing them laughing.\u201d

Natalia Molina, distinguished professor of American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California, suggests there\u2019s another reason so many viewers are touched.

\u201cEspecially if you come from an immigrant background, if you are Latino or an immigrant, it\u2019s validating,\u201d she says. \u201c[Jesus] puts a spotlight on [these workers] and treats them with respect, and you\u2019re reminded of something that we shouldn\u2019t need to be reminded of \u2014 that these are human beings who live whole lives.\u201d

Molina adds that contemporary culture usually depicts immigrants \u201cas criminals or housekeepers, as low-wage service workers who have no voice. They\u2019re just these flat stereotypes.\u201d

In Hollywood, Latino actors are relegated to just 4% of the spoken lines. \u201cThese videos bring them out as human beings, living three-dimensional lives, that just experience so much joy.\u201d

The online responses to Juixxe\u2019s generosity are overwhelmingly positive. \u201cAs someone with a dad who hasn\u2019t had a day off since he got to the US, thank you truly,\u201d writes one viewer. Another adds, \u201cYou heal a lot of people\u2019s inner child. Most immigrants spend most of their life working and saving and not being able to go out to places like this. Thank you for all you do.\u201d

An adult ticket for one day in Disneyland costs between $104 and $196. Morales not only springs for the tickets, but pays each man $500 for their time.

But there is no price tag on joy.

\u201cA cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.\u201d So says Proverbs 17:22.

Laughter that springs from a grateful heart is not only a healing force. It draws us nearer to those around us, and inevitably brings us face to face with the possibility of a closer walk with God.

As the Bible\u2019s central character assures us, \u201cThese things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full\u201d (John 15:11).

His name, by the way, also happens to be Jesus.
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Like the contractors and foremen who are hoping to hire workers, Jesus Morales occasionally drops by one of the southern California parking lots or street corners where unemployed laborers gather early every morning, hoping to be chosen for a day\u2019s work. But the 27-year-old doesn\u2019t take any workers to a construction… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[152,555],"class_list":["post-3735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-generosity","tag-joy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3735"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3738,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735\/revisions\/3738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}