Count It All Joy

Count It All Joy

Today I reflect on the quiet stillness of my morning. I think about sitting in silence with God and asking Him to search my heart. I ask Him to show me anything I might still be holding on to so I can work through it and keep doing the inner work.

My inner work is ongoing. I think about everything I have walked through in my life. I think about my relationships within my family and outside of my family. I think about the importance of facing the things I may have tucked away in the closet or swept under the rug. Those things become trials. And I have to practice the endurance of working through them through the amazing gift of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the light that shines on the dark corners of the past. It exposes the illusions. It breaks the prison of assumptions and misunderstandings. It frees me from carrying things I was never meant to carry.

I reflected today on the message at church from the book of James. James said to count it all joy when I face trials of various kinds. A trial can be an accusation. A trial can be adversity. A trial can be an obstacle. A trial can be how I view somebody or how they interact with me.

Everything that happens outside of me presents an opportunity. I can respond in bitterness or I can respond in joy. And when I respond in joy, this response strengthens something inside of me. It builds my endurance. It builds my patience.

Whether it is how I interact with Bella or how I interact with Barbi or anyone else in my life, every moment becomes an opportunity to choose the lens I put on. If I put on the lens of forgiveness, light shines onto everything. And I can find joy in the truth that these moments are strengthening me.

James reminds me that when I need wisdom, all I have to do is ask. And what I look for, I will find.

Even simple moments can become trials. Cold weather. Someone saying good morning or not saying good morning. Someone greeting me or someone I presume is ignoring me. But none of that determines my joy. Only my response does.

That is what sets me apart. That is what makes this walk with God different. Most people do not face adversity with joy. But I can. I am invited to.

Today I choose joy. I choose endurance. I choose patience. And I choose to grow.