Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Philippians 4:4 NIV

I have several friends who each January select a word for the year that will be their focus for the next 365 days. I have always admired their commitment and listened to their stories of how it helped them grow in their faith walk. But I have never done it, until this year. I always had trouble finding a word -- do I want it to be grace, peace, or patience? This year the word picked me. Or better yet – God told me what my word needed to be – JOY!

I am the glass is half filled person, and I do look for the good in all things. I am a happy person – so I thought this would be an easy word to study. Just weeks into the new year I realized my definition of joy and God’s definition were a little different.

I was sitting in the grocery store parking lot when my cellphone rang. The nurse said I was being referred to another doctor for additional testing. I sat there for a minute as I replayed those words in my head. Finally, I crawled out of the car and walked into the store. I barely remembered why I had come. A young woman carrying a baby offered me her cart. As I looked up to thank her, I saw the baby’s T-shirt, “Mommy’s little JOY!” I finished my shopping and headed home. I stopped at a red light behind a car with a bumper sticker that said, “Joy Always.”

Lord, I thought, you are reminding me about my word. But I don’t feel so joyous now. Turning up the radio to drown out the traffic noise, a song about Paul and Silas singing in prison came on. I realized joy is deep-rooted in our hearts, while happy is surface level. Joy is what brings out worship from our hearts when we don’t know what to do or pray in the moment. It is through joy that we can praise God in all circumstances.

Mitzie Avera