When it Isn't Joyfully After All.

One of the toughest things I have found in life is learning how to be joyful for others when I am in the midst of wandering in the dark valleys of life. It is hard to have the unselfish joy for others, when you are trying to figure out why God is allowing you to be stuck in the midst of pain, sorrow and confusion.

I have friends that have found jobs, that have been promoted, that have received bonuses. I have friends that are pregnant, just had a baby, or have kids to raise. I have friends that are able to afford so much, when D and I are struggling to pay the minimal bills that we have, and we don't even really think about lavish things like going out to a nice restaurant for dinner, or getting away for the weekend.

Fighting Mr. Jealousy is hard. Mr. Jealousy never travels alone. He brings with him: Shame, Fear, Guilt, Confusion, Worry, Worthless and Stress. It is a whole van load of characters. It is hard to be just 1 person and fight against all those demons. What makes it even harder is when Christ seems to be ignoring your pleas for back-up because He is so busy lavishing blessings on others.

I know my blog is titled "Joyfully After All" but sometimes even I have a hard time with joy. There are no magic answers. Life sometimes just sucks. Sometimes you have to just wait out the crisis and have faith that at the end you will find joy. Even if it has been months, joy will come again someday. Alaskans know this better than anyone. They experience MONTHS at a time of darkness, yet they know that God will bring the sun back. Darkness doesn't last forever.

I guess the best advice I can give myself is that, "this too shall pass. The Son will rise again." I have to support my friends and be happy for them, because that is how God created me. Maybe there isn't much joy in my life right now, but someday I'll be in Heaven where there is nothing BUT joy!

Dear Lord, I need joy again. I need a reason to celebrate. I need some resolution to some of these trials. I want to cling to You, but it is getting hard. I'm weak. HELP LORD, I NEED YOU!!!

-JP-