Have you ever considered the true meaning of “Joy?”
According to the Encarta Dictionary: English (North America) online edition,
this is what joy means: “great happiness:” feelings of great happiness or
pleasure, especially of an elevated or spiritual kind; a pleasurable aspect of
something or source of happiness.”
Allow me to zero in on the ‘spiritual’ aspect
of happiness, for a moment. The Bible has 187 references for the word, ‘joy’;
66 of them, in the New Testament. With this many verses expressing content
containing joy, obviously the Lord thought it was pretty important.
Nehemiah 8:10 states: “Then he said unto them,
Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for
whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye
sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your
strength.”
“The joy of the Lord is your strength”; I
cannot count how many days I had to repeat that statement, as I was alone
raising my children. Being a divorcee with three young children to raise up is
no small task. However, I learned
countless numbers of lessons that I might not have learned, otherwise.
When I was asked to write a short story, for
an anthology; one regarding a personal experience that carried a positive
message of hope, endurance and victory, I immediately thought of some of the
joys that I experienced during those days of single parenting. Hence the book, THE
JOY OF MOTHERHOOD was developed, which is now on sale.
I encourage you to get a copy for yourself and
one for some young mother that you know who may need some encouragement. I have
learned that no one suffers needlessly, if he or she can glean precious lessons
from the experience. Click here and get your copy today. You’ll be glad that
you did.
