The Search for Joy in a Less Than Perfect World

Today we begin MomHeart, a small group emphasizing the biblical design of motherhood and celebrating our roles as moms. This online study is a means for women to participate who work or can't make the small group at the Y.

When we become moms there is no guide book that comes with each child. Of course we can consume ourselves with the unending flow of information available but it often is information that is contradictory depending on whom you are reading. Confusion results coupled with frustration as we try to get inside the heads of these little ones entrusted to us by God.  Furthermore, the moment we find ourselves with some rhythm in the parenting journey, something changes to disturb that rhythm only for the process of discovery to begin again as kids and life  constantly change.

Because MomHeart  is biblically based, it is freeing to know I only need to go to one source for direction and encouragement in my parenting.  It is with great joy I seek the Father, the one who entrusted these five children to me anyway for wisdom to parent them in such a way that honors God.

Because we are the object of God's love...He made us, He loves us, He cares for us...is faithful to us, etc., it is a privilege to defer to His call to walk in joy.  In John chapter 15, Christ tells us in verse 11, "I have told you this so that my  joy may be in you and your joy may be complete."But we find ourselves surrounded by less than joyful circumstances in life as a result of living in a fallen world. Here are these precious little ones in our fold and we are surrounded by pornography, adultery, sickness, pain, crime, abuse, and divorce. The list is endless.

Often surrounded by such ugliness, one seeks to find joy through less than perfect means: social status, our children's achievements, drinking, partying, relationships, excessive spending. Again, the list goes on and on. It begins a vicious cycle that spirals down leaving us with empty hands and empty hearts.

Furthermore, when we find Christ and begin to journey with Him, we often become disillusioned by the suffering that comes from walking with Christ....suffering in our jobs, hardships in marriage, kids with special needs...another unending list. We begin to do what we know to be right like being still, listening to God, seeking Him, but the circumstances don't change. So, to embrace joy in a less than perfect world, one begins with simply belief...belief that God is for me and wants me to walk in His joy.

If you often find yourself, like me, in a less than joyful state, may we be encouraged  to "right" our thinking regarding joy. In First Peter chapter one we read, "we receive an inheritance in Christ..that can never perish, spoil, or fade which brings us great joy although for a little while we will suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, honor, and glory when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in Him and are filled with inexpressible joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Peter wrote this at a time in history when Christians were scattered all over the earth and suffering severe persecution...some even thrown to lions as partying Romans looked on and laughed literally in a sports arena. Yet, Peter encourages them to hold on to what they know to be truth....Christ and Christ in them..the hope of glory. Likewise, we live in an arena of lions where darts of misinformation, struggles, discouragement, and disillusionment bombard us moment by moment as technology flows through every aspect of our lives. Still, we too are encouraged to hold on to our faith...that which stands the test of time and trials of life.

I look forward to your comments to this week's questions as you read chapter one and reflect on what God is saying to each of you.

1. What hinders me from "feeling His joy"?

2,  What is the most prominent feeling about life I have?  Where did it come from?

3.  What is my greatest area of disillusionment or circumstances that most often robs me of joy?

4.  What do my attitudes say about God's character? Are there any areas in which I have subtly believed God is not concerned about my personal needs? What are the unanswered prayers in my life that I am still waiting for him to answer?

The author's prayer...

"Dear heavenly Father,

Please move in my heart. Teach me to live in the fullness of your joy. Show me through your Word and by your Holy Spirit how I might learn to dance my life with you as my lead, following your steps, listening to the rhythm of your love. Take my burdens into your hands and lighten my load as I seek you in the deep places of my heart. Amen."