Beautiful one,

Yesterday when you were driving down the road, singing at the top of your lungs, and drumming on the steering wheel, all of us here agreed that Joy looks so marvelous on you. You looked so alive, and might I add, radiant. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. 

Your energy is contagious. Do you know that? The beauty you carry is not cold or intimidating. It’s warm and inviting, just like your Papa. True beauty is always an invitation to know me, and oh, how you’ve invited others! You know what stirs up the light in your eyes that others so desperately want to behold? It’s my joy.

JOY. That’s a word for you this week.

Take time to celebrate everything that is true, good, and lovely. Look for it. Whatever you look for you will find.

Notice my grace in every situation. Is it in the embrace of a loved one? Is it the infant sleeping in the stroller in the grocery check out line, demonstrating what “peace” looks like? Is it in the flock of birds that formed patterns in the sky above you as the sun came up this morning? 

Look for my signature in everything. It’s there. 

Sometimes my children get scared to embrace a moment of joy. They get so distracted with the cares of this life. 

They can’t enjoy a night out because they’re worried about their bank account. They can’t receive a compliment because they feel insecure about their features. They don’t want to get excited about the healing because “what if the symptoms comes back?” They don’t want to “get their hopes up” because “nothing good ever happens to me”. 

I want you to ENJOY this life. I came to give you INCREDIBLE JOY and an ABUNDANT LIFE.

Joy belongs to you. It is your life source. The enemy doesn’t actually want your “things”, my love. He wants your joy, because without it you are weak. 

So let it happen. Let JOY happen. Don’t create rules for it, like how long it needs to last, or what could possibly threaten it. Once you learn that joy can be found any time you look for it, you’ll realize it’s always available, always there. I will not fail you.

Even in seasons of grieving, when you experience even the briefest moments of joy, don’t be scared of them (like somehow because you embraced a moment of joy the world expects you to be fully healed from your trauma). Heaven puts no pressure on you, my love. The more my children stop fearing the light that wants to come in, they will see that on this side of eternity, good and bad will always coincide, and that life is perfectly messy and beautiful all at the same time. The more you let the light in, the less the darkness will scare you.

Love, did you know one day, you literally will fear nothing? Nothing. If you could hear the roar in your laughter that is coming… Who needs an army of angels when we have the power of your laughter to slay demons?

Yes, my love, Joy looks good on you. It looks perfect. Keep spreading it.

Love, Papa.

John 10:10 | John 15:11 | Psalm 34:5 | Philippians 4:8 | Psalm 107:1 | Colossians 3:15 | Luke 11:9 | Psalm 2:4 | Nehemiah 8:10