JOY

This is the third week of advent…focus of JOY. Things do not always feel joyful since Briella passed. JOY is our coming Savior! Joy is also a Fruit of the Spirit, which means it comes from God and cannot be produced on our own. The world’s definition of joy is so different than the joy that the Bible talks about. Briella loved the song “JOY” by King and Country. The song talks about how life has been letting us down and yet “I choose JOY…let it move you. Yeah, I choose JOY.”

Jennifer Tucker writes,

“We don’t have to wait until we’re happy to have joy. We don’t have to wait until the hard things get easier or the messy things get straightened out or the light of the dawn rises to chase away the darkness before we can rejoice and have joy. 

Because wherever Jesus is, there is already joy.

Joy is a rebellious act of defiance against the pain and the darkness of this world. Joy can pierce through any pain and shine the light of hope into any darkness because true joy is rooted in a deep trust that God is with us and that all that He promised will come true.

We can have joy right now, wherever we are, because we know this isn’t the end of the story. We can have joy because we know that something more wonderful is coming, and that something beautiful is already here. We raise the sword of joy defiantly against the dark when we learn to look for the good and the beautiful that is already all around us, when we choose to see the good in the midst of all the hard and painful things.

Joy can hold hands with our hurt…joy can walk in step with our pain.

Because, as Janet Erskine Stuart wrote, “joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God.” 

So today I choose joy. This is not always easy. Too many times, I associate joy with happy feelings. It is work to remind myself that joy is a person and the Fruit of the Spirit

Lord, fill me with joy;
I know that you are near.

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is near.”
Philippians 4:4-5

 Briella loved to spread JOY to others. This week I choose to spread JOY like Briella did so well. I packed and sent a care package to a young pediatric cancer patient. #givelovelikebriella at Christmas and always.