Have you ever started your day with so much joy that it was bursting through every fiber of your being?

Y’all I woke up so joyful and thankful today. I just felt extra blessed and I knew this was going to be one of those days that absolutely NOTHING was going to steal my joy!! (cue the music by Zach Williams, “Old Church Choir”)

What is different about today? It’s not a special day as far as birthdays or anniversaries go. It’s just a day that the Lord has made, and I will be glad and rejoice in it! (Psalms 118:24)

A day the Lord has made!

Isn’t that enough reason to wake up joyful? Y’all I know this has been a year like no other but I keep reflecting on my blessings. I’ve had extra time with my daughters and more game nights than I can count. I have enjoyed more time to be still. I have been more intentional in my Bible Studies and my devotionals. There has been more time well spent in God’s Word.

Have I experienced moments where I broke down in tears, moments where my grief has overwhelmed me, moments when I’ve felt lonely, moments where I allowed the world’s voice to be the loudest in my ears? Absolutely! But those moments don’t even compare with the moments of joy the Lord has brought me this year and the realizations that have come with it. He has been speaking so clearly to me lately and sometimes I’ll admit I have pushed it to the side and said, “Oh, I’ll get to that later Lord, I promise.” (Like my blog for instance!)

But last night, as I was reading my devotional, He brought some of the same things to mind again. I’m a little stubborn sometimes and have to be told more than once. I wrote them down this time and when I woke up this morning I knew He had special plans for me and I better get it in gear! So here I am, doing the first thing that came to my heart today… writing to you!

Y’all I even put up a Christmas tree this year!

I know to some that isn’t a big deal but for me it is. You see, midway through 2017 I lost someone extremely important to me. Someone who I imagined would always be there but one morning he went to work and died of a heart attack. Three months later my biological mom passed away from breast cancer in a completely different state than me with absolutely nothing in place for that situation. As the oldest child, I spent months managing all the complications that kept coming my way. Then one day her ashes arrived by mail in a box that I had to open and unwrap. Four months after that I would spend almost two weeks by my daddy’s hospital bed watching him wither away. I would sing to him and pray over him. He never wanted me to leave his side, and I would not until he took his last breath. There are still nights where I can’t sleep because I am back in that hospital room when I close my eyes.

Since he passed away, I have not put up a Christmas tree. You see my daddy always spent Christmas Eve night with my girls and me so that he could be there Christmas morning to watch them open presents. For the last couple of years, I just haven’t had the heart to decorate a tree, but this past weekend I did.

I stood there decorating that tree bawling my eyes out. Remembering and missing my daddy as I hung ornaments he helped paint during our 25 days of Christmas Activities I used to do with my girls. Several times during the process I wanted to quit but then I would look up at the star. I always put a star on the top of my tree, and this year was no different. I got a new one and put it on first so my whole tree would be lit up. (I had the tree up for a week before I could bring myself to decorate it.)

As I looked at the star, I thought about how there is never any rhyme or reason behind my decorating the tree. It’s full of all sorts of things that don’t necessarily match. I hung the handmade ones, even the ones that are falling apart, as well as the new ones I just purchased this month. The fact that it’s always a little different brings me joy. But no matter how differently I decorate it, you can always count on it being topped with a star and I love that even more! 

At that moment I was reminded that I can always count on Jesus to remain the same. No matter how hectic my life gets, or how my circumstances change, or how the grief seems to come out of nowhere like a hurricane trying to topple me over, my Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)

And just as the star guided the wise men, my Jesus has always guided me.

He comforts me. He loves me. He forgives me. He never gives up on me. In my brokenness, He makes me whole and in my weakness, He continues to be my strength!

I began to cry again…

Tears that washed away the sadness. Tears that washed away the grief. Tears that comforted me and brought a smile to my face as my Jesus wrapped His loving arms around me and whispered, “I am with you always! Look up and keep your eyes set on Me!”

Y’all I decorated a tree this year and this morning I woke up feeling so blessed and joyful. The kind of joy that truly only comes from Him and I just want to share it with everyone I meet!

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10