Sometimes we put such high expectations on this word. The world looks at success as joy. Can money buy this coveted happiness?

 Or does Joy look like a child’s face after opening the gift they’ve waited so long for? 

Maybe… or maybe Joy looks like that same child’s face after they give away that gift to someone who needed it more. Now, I surely am not saying that Joy comes only after we give away our things…if that were the case, I would be rummaging through my house looking for pieces to give away instead of sitting here writing. However, I have found that after I give something or do something for someone else this beautiful emotion fills my heart. It sure feels like joy to me. It feels like an internal smile…the biggest, warmest smile!

As I look around my house right now, my music coming through my speakers,  I see many things that once brought me joy when they were brand new. Things that I thought were so pretty and at first I would display them so very proudly. Every time I would walk in the room, I would be excited at the beauty of this new treasure. 

 After some time though, that treasure would stop standing out. I wouldn’t notice it as much as before. Instead of stopping to appreciate the beauty, it suddenly was average. My once sparkling, beautiful treasure became as plain as the carpeting on the floor…

Where did that feeling go? Why wasn’t it so special to me as it once was? 

I’m sure I’m not alone when I confess I’ve tried to find my joy in relationships, in my possessions, in my profession, in my fur babies….

Although there IS joy in my relationships and also at my job…and I can’t deny that my fur babies definitely lift my mood, but God has been showing me HIS joy! The joy that comes from within. The joy that stands firm and remains even when things want to rip up my world as I knew it. That knowing that no mater what happens, He will fill my heart with joy to get through. 

He promised that joy comes in the morning and I have had to test him on that. Nights have a way of making your mind go on overdrive and joy is like a distant star that I almost don’t even recognize.  It feels hopeless, it hurts, I can’t see the answer…the direction…..yet when I wake up that next morning it feels fresher! The heavy weight from the night before is so much lighter. Yes, I may still be tired, but it seems so much easier to take a breath and rise up to tackle one more day! 

Even in the times when my life feels monotonous and it feels that I do the same exact thing day after day after day after day…I sometimes have to stop myself…

In these mundane tasks it is hard to find joy because I just go through the motions and my mind is seriously either thinking of nothing or it’s grumbling about why people can’t pick up after themselves!! 😆 The joy here is a busy family coming and going! I am working on being thankful for these tasks and messes. ❤️

There is so much evidence in the Bible that tells us just how much Jesus wanted us to be filled with joy… 

Joy comes in the morning

The joy of The Lord is my strength

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart

When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul

Always be joyful

In Your Presence is fullness of joy

There are many others, but the pattern I see here is The Lord knew just how tough things can get so one of the tools he equips us with is joy to get through it all. 

Our lives are busier than the generations before us and our expectations are intense! Sadly, we sometimes get caught up leaping from one event to the next and sometimes we leap right over our joy! 

Today I encourage you to stop even if it’s for only 5 minutes. Think about what brings you joy. 

Something that brought me great joy was when my husband took me to the Mackinaw Bridge. Now, I had been there and gone over it many times in my childhood, but I hadn’t been there in quite a few years. It was so beautiful and I remember as I sat watching the waves roll in that joy filled my heart. It was a moment that I wanted to just stay in. I am a water baby so water brings me the most peace. 

I was so thankful that my husband took me there. I was recovering from a double masectomy and I needed a break from all of the medical that had invaded my space. Brad knew this and gave me a gift that I still treasure to this day and it’s been two years! Abundant joy. 

I pray today that no matter what you are going through, that joy invades your space!! 💕