JOY

MareBearHitstheRoad Blogger - May 26, 2010 - When I first started this post I thought there was more I wanted to add...instead as I read it now, 3 days into my arrival in the Big Apple, I have decided that this is exactly what it should be. While I post this piece on something that most people have trouble finding in their lives, I feel enormously blessed that I have been privileged to an abundance of it. So even during the strain and stress of the long journey and acclimation back to what is the seemingly polar opposite of what I am used to, it is my hope that even through the struggle I find and reflect just as much Joy as when I am in not in the refiners fire than when I am.

Written May 12, 2010 ..."in 6 days I will pack up what little I have into a trailer the size of what most women would call a small closet, LOL, and pack up my dogs and head East. Some of you have been following the journey so far and most of you have become part of it. Some for very personal reasons, others to be encouragers and support me at a time when frankly I feel quite vulnerable and wide-open for disappointment. But as I forge forward, completely at peace with the choices I am making and the road I will be traveling, keenly aware of all that can and will go wrong, I am filled with tremendous Joy and Hope. I have looked at this move from every angle and then some. You see I am an "out of the box" thinker and a planner. I enjoy the adventure and challenge that life offers us everyday. And while I have had tremendous trials whereby I failed miserably at keeping the Joy and Hope in the spotlight, I have far more triumphs for these very same things.

Websters defines joy: Main Entry: ¹joy 

Pronunciation: \ˈjȯi\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French joie, from Latin gaudia, plural ofgaudium, from gaudēre to rejoice; probably akin to Greek gēthein to rejoice

Date: 13th century

1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion :gaiety
2 : a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
3 : a source or cause of delight

Joy has taken over me in untold, unimaginable ways, ways that come from knowing that whatever the future holds, so long as look up and not out or in (meaning to withdraw into the self) anything is possible. I have been blessed with THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY friends, family and experiences that go with them.  I am not only blessed beyond comprehension but through my great JOY others see hope and possibilities for the future.  

But Joy is not something that comes easily and more often than not, it comes after great trials and tribulations. Experiences that while traumatic, difficult or life changing - these experiences are what shape our character, build integrity, create courage, breathe life where none existed.  So while I look back at the many mistakes I have made and will make in the future, for now I can sit quietly with my computer and write my hearts love for all things. That includes you, it includes the hurting and the homeless, the hopeless and the lost.  

The JOY that I hope to share and convey didn't come to me because I have wealth or fame, power or position. It comes from deep within; from a place that has known great tragedies but also great triumphs. My joy is created within a heart that seeks to serve, minister and bring Christ's message to everyone, regardless of what they believe.