Joy revisited

Finding joy has been one of those things that I've struggled with for a long time. Not really knowing what it looks like makes it all the more difficult to know it when I have it. I've always known it's more than just “being happy”. This weekend, God has blessed me with just a taste of what His joy can be. I can only imagine what His joy can look like at its full glory!

There's no doubt about it, the warm sunny weather did a good deal to improve my attitude this weekend. Saturday was a busy day. The morning was packed with Cheer-Off for the OMYFA. It's always chaotic, but usually worth it in the end. Carly's team got 3rd place out of 10ish teams, & the Chargers managed to get the Sportsmanship award (the whole team, football & cheer). It was so wonderful to see the girls enjoy themselves.
From then it was a nice wedding of a friend, followed by a monster truck show for PJ & I. None of these event were all that special. I don't really know how else to explain it, other than “it came from God.”

Sunday got even better. There was a short section of our church service where people could share their testimonies. I'm not averse to offering mine, but most of the time, I have nothing to share. This day was different. I felt lead to share that I had found just a little bit of joy. Ever since, I'd been on a high.
After church I sat in the sun watching as a bunch of kids (neighborhood, church, & ours) played in the leaves, laughed out loud, & chased each other around the house. The Sunday ended with a nice trip to the cider mill & a dinner out.

The funny thing is, it was so similar to weekends past, yet this one had so much more peace & love. It probably sounds a bit cheesy to the outsider, but very authentic to me; and it's clear as to where these feelings are stemming from.