The Road to Joy

The count down is on...it is almost 2017! Yahoo! Happy New Year everyone! I pray that this year will be your best year yet and that your days are filled with lots of love. In celebration of the New Year, I thought I would share my road to finding joy.

After becoming sick many years ago, I spent several years bed-ridden. The only time I would leave the house was to go to medical appointments. I spent much of my time on the living room couch, gazing out the front window into the outside world. I watched the seasons change and watched far too much television. However, the most interesting thing to do was watch the people across the street.

Across the street from my house, a small church sits on a small hill. Every Sunday and Wednesday, the church had services. I would love to watch the people as they filed into the church and leisurely made their way back out to their cars. One thing always caught my eye: they always seemed to be filled with joy! The more I watched them, the more I knew they had the secret to joy. There was always lots of laughter, shrieks of delight from the little ones, smiles and hugs. These people always seemed genuinely happy.

As time progressed, I was determined to leave the house. I slowly built up my endurance. I wanted to venture across the street and see these people of joy up close. While I was trying to figure out the details of attending a service, the church dropped off their annual plate of Christma cookies. Included with the treats was a card detailing when their services were. Also, the card mentioned having a special evening Christmas service. I thought this Christmas service was the perfect time to go for an adventure.

When I arrived at the church, joy was everywhere. The adults warmly greeted one another; the children had wide smiles and laughter rang through the air. As I shook hands with many folks, I could feel the immense love and happiness encompassing the building. When the service was over, I knew this place held the key to my joy. I started attending services as best I could. The Pastor's wife took me under her wing and helped introduce me to the members of the congregation. She also asked me if I read the Bible daily. This was a new concept to me. I had read bits and pieces of the Bible, but I had never read the whole thing or thought to read it daily. I pondered this thought for many months until finally I made a plan to read the whole thing. I figured if these people were joyful, I needed to do what they were doing...and this was the best decision of my life!

It took me some time to understand the Bible. There were so many different people to know, and then I had all these fragments of stories and characters I knew from Sunday School and confirmation classes. But slowly, and with the help of J. Vernon McGee's Thru the Bible online audio commentary, the great expanse of God's Word unfolded before me. I soon found myself excited and yearning to read the Bible. There were so many good stories and so many incredible lessons to learn. I soon started not worrying about things and started trusting the Lord to take care of me. What a tremendous relief! All the worries and stresses of having a chronic medical condition started disappearing, and joy soon found residence in my heart. I now found myself laughing and smiling. My heart seemed so light and free. Although I still had many bad health days, the pain and gloom seemed so much less now that I knew Jesus was by my side. Even in the darkest hours of the night and in the grips of excruciating pain, He was there comforting me.

So, my friend, if you are reading this and do not read the Bible daily, I ask that you try. You can start anywhere--at the beginning in Genesis or if you want to know how everything is going to end, skip ahead to the last book, Revelation. If you need guidance, listen to Thru the Bible at ttb.org which features J. Vernon McGee. He tells funny stories and helps point out details you might not catch. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, ask Jesus to come into to your life and help show you His Word...or as I like to call it, The Road to Joy.