34: Find Joy

 

Ahhh yesterday was my 34th birthday. Everyone always asks you How do you feel? after another birthday or major event... truthfully some days I still don't feel a day over 17. But then other times I feel like I don't even know that 17 year old girl anymore. We've gotten so far, my perception and heart has changed and grown so much, that I think if I could've looked into the tiny peephole of my future I would've been really surprised but happy with what I saw.

 

I never recall crying on my birthday, as a child you're surrounded by so many people coming together to celebrate you. But as you get older, sometimes you find that the group gets smaller and things are just different. 

 

So this year I cried a bit. I cried for the things lost, I cried for the people that are no longer here to embrace me like they would... but mostly I cried because of the words and messages of the people that are still here and love me everyday.  

 

In the morning I opened up my birthday card from my older friend and coworker (she told me I had to wait until my actual birthday to read it)... to the words Find Joy on the cover. They couldn't have been more perfect and true. Maybe that's the point of getting older that we don't see when we're younger. Maybe we're so lost in the excitement, the plans, the crowd of people...  that we don't see the miracle of being alive for a whole other year. 

 

Everyone talks about how they want to be happy, but happiness is conditional and temporary. But joy? Joy is eternal despite everything else that could be surrounding us.

 

Maybe it's the smell of freshly brewed coffee whisking you up in the morning (more like mushroom coffee for me haha). Maybe it's a morning voicemail from a friend telling you that you've impacted their life... and then ugly crying in your bed because of it. Maybe it's a slow dance in the kitchen with your husband as he serenades you in a voice too funny to not burst out laughing. 

Maybe it's the sun coming out after the rain reminding you that God very much loves you and still has you here for a purpose... that you are not forgotten. 

And I've realized that when you walk beside the very One who created you, another year on this side of heaven may seem like you're getting older is a bad thing... but if you're on His path, you are being renewed every. single. day. Now that's an eternal joy and youth promised that I want to soak up every bit of. 

And maybe as we get older, it isn't about what we see, but what we know is true.  

May we find joy in the little things, the big things, and all the things in between, always. 

with all my love and always for His glory,

Barbara

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16, KJV)

Every Season a Purpose

Everyone is in a season. Whether it be a season of drought, a season of abundance and fruits, a season of trials, a season of waiting, a season of answered prayer, a season of joy... or perhaps a season of sadness. God spoke about the different seasons of life in Ecclesiastes 3:1-10

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

As a newly-married woman, this season of my life is quite different than my past 32 years. I have different responsibilities, different priorities, different job... overall a different role. But all good in the way the Lord created it to be. 

Many of us can become impatient or discouraged when we are placed in a season that we don't particularly enjoy. I've been there. But notice how God created the seasons on earth: the winter while it seems dead on the surface, below the frigid ground... are seeds that are waiting for the spring ahead. The cold temperatures and moist conditions actually give the soil a chance to rest before the spring arrives and then literally come to life. 

The spring season brings forth life from everything that was resting and dormant which makes ready for the summertime. A season of beauty, warmth, and overflow of life. 

Finally, the fall with the cooler temperatures is harvest time. Everything that was planted and grew in the summertime sun is now ripe and ready to pluck and enjoy. 

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

Notice how not one season is wasted. God made a purpose for every season on earth, as well as your life. While it may not look like there is anything going on on the surface, ask God, What is it that you are trying to teach me in this season of my life?

Perhaps He is trying to grow your heart and prepare you for the season ahead which requires stillness and trust in Him. Perhaps you are to be a light to someone around you in this season. Maybe He is preparing your heart for your future spouse. Perhaps you have little ones that are relying on you and your love to help them grow. 

Whichever the case may be, no season or time is ever wasted when we are trusting that the Lord has us in in His hands. Whether you are a single woman waiting for the Lord to provide a husband, or a mother that is surrounded by her little ones everyday with the seemingly same routine. If you are waiting to hear news from a sickness... know that God has a purpose for you in this season.  

After all, He has made everything beautiful in His time.