JOY

A choice

A practice

A discipline

Seemingly effortless

Yet depth lies behind

Weightless

Because it knows weight well

There was a time I didn’t want to be here. A time I felt heavily discouraged and so full of doubt... So much so it drained me to the point of apathy. The most empty place to be, in my experience. Merely existing… It started with a lack of direction and very little sense of purpose. I had put too much weight on the doing part of life and completely disregarded the beauty of being.

If I’m being honest, I can’t say I have never had the same feelings since those years ago. They creep up here and there; I fall into a funk now and again.. but somehow, I believe by God’s grace, I was then and continue today to be softly reminded: Happiness is circumstantial. Joy comes from a peace within... and as simple as that sounds, it’s these kinds of truths that are hardest for me to grasp. It takes intentionality. It takes effort. A daily practice and divine intervention.

But it’s worth it. To live rather than exist, is worth the struggle of self discovery, the struggle of having faith in something so much bigger than oneself. So with a hopeful heart, I repeat my soft reminder:

A choice

A practice

A discipline

Bred by gratitude

And watered daily

This is how I carry genuine Joy