Joyful Ruins

A friend of mine made me aware that some people may read the title of my blog and my tag line- “Discovering joy in the hard places”- as false positivity. That, however, is not anywhere near what I am communicating in the name or tag line.

My personal belief is that no one can experience real deep lasting joy unless they have gone through hard things. Oftentimes, when we learn about joy through religious teachings or even from others, it sounds like a suck-it-up-and-force-yourself-to-see-the-silver-lining kind of teaching.

In my own hard times which I transperently share about through my teachings, I have found that joy blossoms from the hard, confusing, and painful circumstances we face. Joy is not about smiling, singing, or forced platitudes. Joy is about choosing to believe in something or someone greater than you. Joy is intertwined with lamenting, a deep ache for safety, renewal, hope. Joy goes beyond praying things away or looking for positivity, and enters into our hardest feelings to tell us we are loved ALWAYS.

This is what I mean by discovering joy in the hard places. As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about joy intermingled with grief, that is how I see so much of life. Grief is not without joy and joy is not without grief. God created them to meet together in a strange beautiful way. The process of discovering this truth is often painful, long, and life changing. I am still going through the process and will forevermore, but as I have found joy even in the hardest places, I felt an overflow from my heart to write and share with you in your dark places and journey.

Joyful Ruins is a reference to Isaiah 51:3 which mentions that the Lord will look with compassion on Zion’s ruins and joy and gladness will be found in her. In fact, this is not the only verse in the Bible that talks about walls being rebuilt, broken things being restored, and so on. Joyful Ruins reminds me that we don’t have to fix or change the broken things in our lives and hearts because that is where God promises to bring joy and renewal.