I chose the word JOY for myself this year. I wanted to take time in the everyday to be joyful, to laugh, to acknowledge a beautiful moment or to learn to enjoy the mundane tasks that often comprise the majority of the time. I knew that in Joy I would find true gratitude and I would be surrounded by peace.
I have to admit my word for the year has been going well. I find myself thanking God for the laundry I have to wash. I leave the dishes and read Brown Bear Brown Bear for the 20th time. We have more dance parties and we make more messes. I haven't been perfect but I know that I have woken everyday with the intention f Joy. But lately I think that God is wanting me to see that when we make a pact with him to pray about an attitude when we come to him daily asking to be given joy that he expects it everyday. Its one thing to find the beauty in the dish bubble and a completely another to find the joy in amidst the heartache.
So this is it friends 5 months into being joyful and God is asking the hard questions, Do you trust me, when what is yours is taken away? Can you see the Joy through the demands of your career? Can you find my Joy through your tears and your daughter's tantrums. Can you comfort your husband and still find the the joy in his unyielding faith? My proverbial rubber has hit the road and I am trying to count it all Joy. I am praying that my family is surrounded in peace. I am answering tough, too perceptive toddler questions with honesty and with a smile.
I am clinging to my verse:
"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12
just to clarify, this was born out of my reflection on the first 5 months of my word of the year. however, with some of the big things we are experiencing as a family it was timely!
