You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence... Psalm 16:11

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Count It All Joy

It makes sense that I drive a van. I will be honest. It is not my first choice. When Ridley and I decided to swirl a family, my convertible, red sports car had to go. You do what you have to do!

I always feel sorry for the guys that have to work on my van. I often wonder what they think about the collection of things they find when sitting at the wheel. Right on the dash is a scripture card my sister-in-law, Tonda gave me. You will also find my pocket-sized pink and black Bible. I am sure they immediately think "Jesus Freak" when they turn the key and all of that is accompanied by some praise music in the background. My van is also my real estate office, so picture all of that with MLS lockboxes, tools, calculators, a sledge hammer for my signs, baby wipes for my shoes when I step in the mud, and more.

There is one treasure in my van that has meant more to me than I ever would have imagined. My sweet friend and fellow PW (pastor's wife), Pam gave me a small ceramic, painted plaque that hangs from a wire decorated with colored beads. It says, "JOY".

It just makes you smile when you see it. I love the verse that reminds us all to "count it all joy" (James 1:2), so this gift was perfect. I wanted to find a place in my van where my eyes couldn't avoid it. It didn't work on the rear view mirror. It didn't work on the gear shift. Finding the perfect place was harder than I thought. I don't think it was by accident that it ended up on the knob of my radio that is labeled "Control". I just noticed that the other day and it has been hanging there for about a year. Who is in control of your joy, Lisa? It got me thinking....

I keep my eyes on my joy so it doesn't fall off and break. You can't imagine how many times it has fallen off. Everything stops when that happens. There are times I have to slam on the brakes and my joy goes flying...literally. Then there are those moments that I lose my joy and it takes me a while to find it....literally. There are also times in the dark, while driving, that I ask my family "Anybody see my joy?" "Where is it?" Things just don't feel right until my joy is back in its place. Those flashes of colors and three simple letters have taught me a lot of life lessons and have been obvious reminders when I needed them the most. As many times as it has fallen off, my joy has never broken. As many times as it has flown from the dash to the back of the van, it has never chipped. My joy is still in tact!

So when I step out of the van to venture into the world, I do my best to take my joy with me. I find myself whispering "count it all joy" as the gas pump ticks over $45.00 or as my hormonal daughter bites my head off. Psalm 94:19 says it all. "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

Who is in control of your joy? I am actually laughing at God's sense of humor right now. My husband just walked in and informed me that the next series at church will be the Family series. Satan always shows up for that one. So my question to Ridley was, "What is the series after that?" He responded, "Spiritual Warfare". Here we go......."count it all joy". "Count it ALL joy".

1 comment:

  1. ALREADY praying for you friend!!
    Greater is He that is in you... MUCH greater!!

    ReplyDelete