You said there would be joy in the laying down, You said there would be joy in the letting go, You said there would be joy in the giving of my life/giving of my rights
This song could not ring any more true. Here I stand wondering, where is the joy? I am letting go, I am giving up, I am laying down, but I do not feel any more joyful. Today I find myself contending for joy, in the mundane, in the day to day, in the moment when no one listens and everything goes wrong. As the song later says:
”I have to DIG for the wells of joy, I’ve gotta get to the wells of joy! I’ve gotta get lower, lower. I gotta go deeper, deeper! Let the river flow!”
Well today… today is a digging for joy day. Some days you’ve got the joy, things go extremely well and my little loves are very cooperative. Other days, well you gotta dig for it. Those are days that you just wish there was an “easy” button, or that you had an on-call mommy that you could call in for back-up. But being mom would be too easy if that were the case. You’ve got to dig until you find the well! I am going to keep digging and I won’t stop.I feel like one of those crazy gold diggers digging in the wrong spot. I just keep digging going “I’m getting closer! I just know it! I will hit gold soon! Any moment!!” And everyone standing around the hole just looks down at me like I am nuts and shakes their head. Well on I dig.
Today is one of those, “who can I call in for back-up” days. As I found my two year old hiding under her bed pulling out the floss out of it’s container for the 3rd time, after me tediously taking it apart and winding it back-up for, no joke, 15 minutes, my insides started to churn. I wanted to scream. So instead of freaking out on her, I put her in her bed and I ran into my room. I threw myself on my bed and threw a giant mommy fit. Why would I freak out about silly dental floss? Good question. But it’s the day where everything just seems to go sour and the dental floss was the kicker. The one that pushed it all over the edge. So as I laid in my bed crying like a giant baby, I screamed to God, “Why does this have to be so hard? Why can’t everyone just listen and obey the first time? Why do I have to repeat myself? Why can’t everyday be a joyful day?!” Then I came upon James 1:2-4
My brethren, count IT ALL JOY when you fall into various trials, knowing that the TESTING of your faith produces patience, But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Well, there you have it. Count IT ALL joy. Goodness gracious. Joy has got to be one of the hardest things to have or attain. ESPECIALLY when there are kids yelling, kids crying and kids pulling out all my floss. My patience is being tested day in and day out. Who knew parenting would be like this? I’ve never been much good at being patient, at least with kids. But with the help of Jesus and some very influential friends, I am becoming more and more forgiving and more patient as well. Also learning to go with the flow. Being a full-time stay-at-home mom has got to be the toughest job. But I keep reminding myself that it won’t always be like this. I try to keep my head in the game and love them every moment of the day. Because they won’t stay little for long. Even though it’s tough, there are those days when my oldest daughter comes up and whispers in my ear, “Mommy, did you know that Jesus loves you?” Those moments take my breath away and bring tears to my eyes and reminds me that Jesus is not far away. He’s right here, going through it with us.
I keep hearing it being said around here that being a mom really makes you face all the “ick” that is inside of you. You may have “thought” you were a great person who never thought bad things, said bad things or did bad things. Then you become a mom and you are faced daily with all the hidden things within your heart. Kids are really good at helping you get rid of the “ick” in your life. So, at the end of the day I find myself thankful. Thankful for my beautiful kids, thankful for the testing, trials and fire that I have to and get to go through. That may sounds funny, but it’s true!! I am thankful that I get to go through this with the best kids, because I am not alone! I love that I get to have Jesus by my side, helping me walk out my salvation, day by day. This has got to be the hardest purification process EVER! But when I come out in the end (if I come out alive… HA!) I will be shining and bright!
So my friends, consider it JOY when you go through trials, heart ache, long school days, the pains of life, screaming kids, fit throwing, floss pulling, diaper changing, potty training, whiny voices and crying children. Because the testing of your faithfulness through it all brings patience. Keep your eyes fixed on the One who loves you through it all and sees the hard stuff. It is only by having doves eyes, focused eyes, that we will be able to endure. Joy will come. So choose it. Choose joy. Dig for it, and don’t stop digging until you hit an over flowing well of it! I can’t wait for the day that the Lord just rains joy down upon me.
Bless you all!!
Dove's Eyes 
Elle well said! How can dental floss put us over the edge right?? These are defining moments with our maker who ever so gently loves on us in those moments and whispers over us truth and grace! We all continue to be tested in patience, love, kindness ect..it’s our choice to cry out to the only one that can continue to bring that heart change in each of us. You are not alone beauty! We all struggle and we all have to contend for the Joy, you ate doing an amazing job of dropping to your knees for strength from Jesus, keep on baby doll because your rewards are all around you especially in their little faces 🙂 you ate an amazing momma!!!! Love you tons xoxo
MamaCita
Not “ATE”!!!!!! ARE 🙂
Thanks mom 🙂 Sometimes dropping to our knees in desperation is about ALL we can do! Love you!!!
Me being a mom, I resemble this so much. I love that you said we need to choose joy. I taught a lesson on joy last week, and I was so surprised what the scriptures say about it. Our mentality is that we should just be joyful in our faith, but joy is actually more of a reward for the work we put in. Joy is acquired through the Holy Spirit by keeping our eyes on God. When we as mothers remember that our days will not be filled with perfection, and we become patient with our children, we will find joy. When we look to become fruitful instead of task oriented we will find joy. Joy is right under our nose, it is simply a decision of our perspective. Thanks for sharing!
Hannah I love that you just did a lesson on this! I love when you are studying something and the Lord seems to bring it up everywhere. Joy is definitely something given, but worked hard for. Somedays are easier than others, but in the end it’s all worth it to go through the fire and come out shining and bright! Thanks for sharing what your lesson was on! LOVE IT!!
Danielle!! This is SOOOO good! And no I don’t have kids but I can relate to the testing, trials and heartache!! You’re an encouragement. Keep fighting girl! The joy is your inheritance! Love you!!!!
Thanks Brooke 🙂 So glad that even though you don’t have kids, you can still relate to different trials the Lord brings us though and how He tests us. Your a blessing! Love you doll!!
Hi Danielle! Awesome scriptures to soak on! I’m feeling thankful for the past several years because as time passes, we look back and see how we need to count it all joy. I look at my oldest daughter and marvel at the idea of her turning 13 next month. Even though Tom and I have been in a 2 year season of waiting, we’ve learned so much to count it all joy. To focus on the moment we have because the moments pass so quickly and we’ll never get them back. There are going to be seasons of sowing/labor, but we WILL look back and see the BLESSING!!! We have been continuouesly trying to see the blessing in the moment, to count it all joy. A season of waiting, hardhsip, lack, whatever it may be, there is JOY in it! Part of June and July we spent in the hospital with our 6 year old daughter. We had such joy even in those moments, and I know it was the Lord’s hand showing us how even times like that will pass quickly, and to also count that joy. We had experiences with the Lord and with others that we would have never experienced had we not been in the hospital.
Bless you Danielle!! Heather