No, You Won’t Steal My Joy!

Into the mud rolled the big fat truck, and his big important wheels got STUCK! His heavy-duty dump-truck tires were sunk down deep in muck and mire.

MUCK AND MIRE?!!!!!

Without fail, my 4 yo will always, always pause and place extra emphasis on this part of the Little Blue Truck. She thinks it’s hilarious! I typically burst into uproarious laughter with her, but after reading it this last time it hit me in a different way.

Sunk down deep in muck and mire.

Leave it to a children’s book, granted an excellent one, to give me pause as I stopped to reflect upon the current condition of my heart and mind.

To put it plainly, last week was terrible. It seemed to be par for the course given the many challenges and setbacks our family has faced this year, and I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

I was disappointed, frustrated and angry. I threw my hands up and wanted nothing more than to escape.

I wanted to escape from the anguish and pain of grief.

I wanted to escape from the pressures of finances and job security.

I wanted to escape from the people who let me and my family down, the circumstances I couldn’t change, and the emotions that left me feeling drained.

I found myself in a place I visit more often than I’d care to admit:

That place of knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, that everything would be fine, yet still allowing the worry to consume me.

That place of allowing fear and lack of control to become greater than my faith.

Now I will pause here to emphasize the fact that I’m not condemning myself or attempting to make anyone feel as though these feelings aren’t completely normal. But here’s the thing.

I didn’t want to stay in this place.

I had to process and cry and struggle through it with Jesus. I had to let it all out to let HIM in, and it was in doing so that Holy Spirit reminded me to take action.

I had to put my foot down and not allow the situation(s) to steal my joy.

Nope, I wasn’t having it anymore!!!!

Whether the culprit was a rude shopper, a financial burden, kids gone wild, or the fretful thoughts taking place in my own mind, I wasn’t going to let any of it steal my joy!

I wasn’t going to allow Satan to steal my joy!!!

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT

For all the crazy, irritating and heart-wrenching moments of this past week, there’s been some really, really great things happen too!

All dolled up after a fantastic holiday party.

Humbled and grateful to have acheieved a year-end goal with 10k followers.

Call me an optimist, but you’re bound to find a silver lining if you’re looking for one, and even more so with Christ. In our savior, you know that sweet baby Jesus we’ll be celebrating in a few days, there’s always a reason to rejoice!!

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NKJV

So the next time my world feels like it’s crashing down (and there will be a next time, and a time after that, and a time after that…), help me to remember that our Heavenly Father is more present, gracious, faithful and unwavering than all my problems combined.