“Discover Joy”

For our November post, I was tasked with addressing the third prong of our organizational theme for 2020:  Discover Joy.  As I was contemplating this topic, which should be easy considering one of the main elements of the impending Christmas season is, in fact, JOY, I spent some time reflecting on 2020, which by many accounts was about anything but joy.  But maybe it is in circumstances just like these that we are to be pro-active in the “discover” part of that message.  Yes, there are many instances when joy naturally presents itself to us – our lives are filled with happy occasions that we hopefully take the opportunity to celebrate.  But there are also times when we must make the effort to discover the joy in our circumstances. 

I recently had lunch with a dear friend, and she asked me to name one good thing that came out of the pandemic shut-down and one new thing I learned during that time.  My initial reaction was one that I’m sure many have had: “Nothing!”  But after a pause, I had to say that no, that wasn’t true.  I did have the opportunity to spend valuable time with my family, and because we had my mother-in-law staying with us for several months, we all made an effort to do things together as a family in the evening after dinner, which normally my teen children would not do.  That was a blessing.  Also, I  learned to use my new (and by “new,” I mean unused, sealed in its box in my basement since I bought it more than five years ago) sewing machine out of necessity to make a few masks back in April when no one could get them.  So, voila!  Now I know how to use my machine for various crafts and repair jobs.  Blessing number two! 

So, there are appreciable moments and joyful circumstances all around us, if we just take a moment to discover them!  One woman who did just that is the woman featured in our 2020 Vision Banquet video. Shyanne was a single mother battling depression, mental troubles and addiction, but whose immense love for her daughter helped wake her up to the gravity of her situation and spurred her to seek the help she needed to overcome her challenges.  She discovered the joy in motherhood and is now also the mother of a sweet baby boy and is a newlywed.  If you haven’t already watched her testimony, I encourage you to do so, it’s very touching (link to it here).

With the election still not completely behind us at the time of this writing, but a pro-abortion leader poised to take control of our country, I believe that there is still good in that as well, since the pro-life advocates will gird up their loins to fight harder for the sanctity of life in our nation.  Rather than resting in a pro-life president, like they may have in the past four years, pro-lifers will have to be more diligent and more vocal in fighting for the unborn in the coming days/months/years.  Fortunately, another plus is that we have another pro-life justice on the Supreme Court, so continue to pray that will be in our favor in the future as well.  

Let us all take a moment to actively do some discovering of the joy in our lives and our circumstances throughout this month and next, as we reflect on 2020 and look forward to 2021, thanking God as always for the good He is working in our lives.