Joy Journal…

Joy Journal…9-29-25

This is my grandson’s “Joy Journal”. He has only a few entries, having just received this on Saturday night. He took it to church with him to proudly show his Sunday School Teacher and the other students. His entries are simple, one or two words, but they are what he appreciates, finds joy in, or is grateful for. Yes, I am studying the joy center in our brains, and fully intend to aide in growing that center within him. But, there is more. There is the simple act of gratitude of God’s grace and goodness . As I watch him mow the yard, he is singing at the top of his lungs. Takes after me in that love, I’m always singing, off-key, but praising nonetheless.

I see that joy when he is happily going about his tasks. I also see that anxiety when he is afraid of failing, uncertain of the response he will get from those people that matter to him. He struggles with anxiety for which I’m praying he begins to see his worth. 1 Peter 2:9  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

The understanding of our identity and worth in Christ is a lesson for us all. There is none worthy, but God considered us so precious that He sent His son to die for us. That means we have worth, we are precious stones, most wonderfully made.

The devil is the voice of doubt and plants the seed that we are not enough. That we are failures. God pulls those weeds laying bare the fresh dirt. He then plants seeds of love, kindness, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. I am God’s gardener, and will help to pull those weeds out of my grandson’s mind and plant the seeds of hope. Reminding him that he is a child of God. Psalm 139: 13-14  “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”