Friday, November 27, 2009

my story of joy

There was a time when joy came to me as easily as falling in love. I was 15, and for the first time the wonder of God in Christ opened before me. I read the Bible like someone thirsty gulping down water. I escaped to my room to pray. I closed my eyes, and slipped into joy like a second skin.

There was a time when joy was lost to me with the suddenness of unexpected grief. I was 17, and praying felt like staring into darkness. The Bible seemed to be only dry and dusty paper. Having lost joy, I pursued emotional "experiences" instead, but they were as fleeting and meaningless as an empty look from an old boyfriend. ...

Read the rest at EQUIP book club today.

image is from stock.xchng

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jean, thank you so much for your articles on When I Don't Desire God. I haven't commented at all, but I have enjoyed reading along and have been reminded of how encouraging that book was when I first read it, and of the great joy and privilege it is to seek our joy in Him. Thanks for serving me in this way.
Jo

Jean said...

Thanks, Jo, I'm glad you enjoyed and benefited from the posts! Like you, it was a bit of a journey of rediscovery for me, since I'd read the book before too - but it was good to get to know it better.

Jean.