Two Paths To Joy
“Because life happens, and people happen and unexpected external circumstances can change on a dime and you are left deciding where to shift strategy, where to shift energy, and where to remain grounded.”
Early in 2020, I believed that this year, this decade, was going to be a game-changer. I believed that Gather would enter a new season of sustainability and increased impact. And we were bringing on our first-ever cohort of amazing Developher interns!
I also believed that the personal intensity of my ministry impact would be laser-focused and all that I had been working toward for so many years would be synthesized. I was experiencing so much joy just thinking about all that 2020 would bring – new people, new processes! But I, like you, never left quite enough space for the unpredictable, unprecedented, unplanned and unimaginable. Maybe we should have.
Nothing is ever everything you set out for it to be.
Because life happens, and people happen and unexpected external circumstances can change on a dime and you are left deciding where to shift strategy, where to shift energy, and where to remain grounded.
I learned two principles early on:
· Don’t let uncertainty invade the secret space where the source of joy is found.
· Don’t be surprised when new sources of unexpected joy invade your life, mostly through suffering and sacrifice.
While I was expectant and joyful for all that was to come before I knew what was really coming, my joy was threatened when a close family member was diagnosed shockingly with Stage 4 metastasized cancer. Joy when you are expectant is one thing. But how could I access the joy when I was blindsided first by her diagnosis, and then by reality setting in that Gather could not offer the live experience we are known for, with a pandemic catching fire before our eyes.
I am learning that there are two paths to joy:
· Being grateful that even in the shift, God is showing His constant goodness and inspiring creativity and strategy to partner with Him in new ways.
· Being grateful that the most shocking news and unpredictable circumstances are the source of a different kind of joy. This is the joy that trumps bad news, being imprisoned in a new reality, and diminished access to life as we knew it.
There is a joy whose anthem can sing loudly into the universe even as it feels the pain of human suffering.
There is a joy that chooses to be good with what is and flourish in tough times, because abundance never comes from what can be taken away.
Philippians 4:11-13
I’m not telling you this because I’m in need, for I have learned to be satisfied in any circumstance. I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.
Would you be grateful that even in the unpredictable, God is good? Would you be grateful that the worst possible circumstances can seed in you the potential to experience more joy than you could imagine? These are the two joy pathways – gratitude and…gratitude. In all things. Choose to receive the strength of Christ’s explosive power infused in you to conquer every difficulty. With joy.
I believe in you!
Cathie