Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Dear God,

Why do some people get so much joy and others do not?  When I feel high on faith or in relationships with my family, my well of joy bubbles over.  It spills out in nature, in worship, in friendships, and in love.  I can't help but share it.  But I do have to say often I think of those who are not so rich in the beauty of your grace.  I pray asking for your joy to spill out over the earth, the universe, the cosmos.  I want every living person to have the wondrous gift of your eternal joy, not just for some future day but today and tomorrow and the day after that.

My daughter Jenni, granddaughter Stella, and I went to the beach today, my first time in nearly three months.  Stella and I played in the sand and rode the waves into shore.  We started making a sand fairy castle when the tide crept up to us and overtook our artistic project.  We laughed while joy filled us up again.

You have taught me to find joy in the simplest places.  You periodically remind me real joy does not come in accumulating more things, in possessing more power, or having my own way.  Joy emerges when I surrender unto you, when I follow your dream for me, when I quiet myself and listen for your voice, and when I seek and find contentment in the bare essentials of life.  The greatest joy is simply when I discover your living presence and I am grateful.

Loving God,
teach me
to find joy
in the simple,
the ordinary,
and the unexpected.
Show me
the way
to your joy.


Love, Andrea