Joy in the Morning

I had a conversation with one of my friends in a parking lot last night, and she said, "It seems that there is a general lack of joy in the world."

I've noticed this in myself lately, too. Over a week or so, God showed me this. And at the apex of this revealing, he reminded me of one of my all time favorite Scriptures, Phillipians 4:8-9:

"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."

There will always be a shadow side to anything in this world. The hunt for it, the finding and naming, the grieving and accepting, can all be helpful and healing. But, it's just so easy for me to be stuck there, in the shadows and depression of it. And I just felt like God said, "I didn't make you for this."

Because just like there is always a shadow, there is always light. He is always present. He is always working and redeeming and joyful and beautiful. Every shadowed thing in my flesh is overcome by the light of the Holy Spirit in my heart. And even if the part of me that is good and noble is small, this is where God works. So this, then, is where I should be paying attention.

My life is blessed. This is an inescapable fact. There are days I walk around my house in a little bit of disbelief that this is where God has brought me and all that he's given me. How easy it is to miss all of this, but how ridiculous at the same time.

All this to say that I am feeling great joy and gratitude this morning: for the smell of Phil's soap I can still smell after he leaves for the day, for my little puppy sweetly sleeping as I write and work, for pajamas, for this house with sunshine through the windows, for an incredible church who loves me, and for cereal. I love cereal. :)