Day #9 in A Year of Thanks:
I’m thankful for the Gift of Joy.

Joy is both an emotion and a precious gift. I have so many layers of joy, though for today’s post, I am referring to the deepest-rooted layer of all, which takes precedence over all other sources of joy in my life. It’s a source of joy that nothing and no one can take from me. It is the joy I have from the Lord. Last night, I was listening to one of my worship playlists on YouTube when I came across “You Say” by Lauren Daigle, and my mind took me back through the last three years.

2022 was one of the worst years of my life, and yet it was also one of the best years of my life. For those of you who’ve been following me for some time and have read my ancestral journey, you’ll know this was the year my natural father passed away. You’ll also see that I only had him in my life for three years because I didn’t get to have him around when I was growing up. His coming into my life so suddenly and loving me so unconditionally from the start, the way parents are supposed to, felt like magic, and then suddenly, he was gone. I was angry, I was crushed, and I almost walked away from God and the faith altogether.

I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit at my dad’s funeral, and Jesus was tugging at my heart. My dad was firm in his faith until his last breath, and his pastor gave a phenomenal eulogy in the form of a sermon that would’ve made him happy. His pastor threw in an Altar Call, inviting anyone who felt a calling from Jesus to accept Him as their Lord and Savior. I was one of three people saved that day. I mean, really saved.

Everything I ever thought I knew about religion growing up was nothing compared to what I know now. When I returned home after my father’s services in Arkansas, I cried hard in despair, and yet I couldn’t stop singing worship music and praising the Lord. I felt the warm, soothing, peaceful presence of the Holy Spirit with me, wrapped around me so snugly like a cocoon. After experiencing three years of truly unconditional parental love through my father, I finally understood what it meant to be truly unconditionally loved by God.

Lauren’s manifestation of joy in this video below is pretty much how my joy in the Lord manifests when I’m in the secret place with the Lord. Abba is El-Roi, the God who sees me, the one who knit me in my mother’s womb, the one who saw every moment of my life in the past, present, and future. He knows every sin I’ve committed, yet He still loves me. He sees all my hurt and hears every broken cry from my heart, and He comforts me. He hears every thought, knows every burden I carry, and He lovingly reminds me He’s in control and that I am His. Now, after the Lord has shown me a lot in these past three years, I know who I am, and I’ve got a joy beyond all measure that’s securely held under the protection of the Lord.

Thank You, Jesus.

Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10
Year of Thanks