Joy in the Journey

In my parents' garden

Today was a rough day. I started out by oversleeping, getting stuck in traffic on my way to work, and arriving at my little cubicle with a feeling of defeat. If this was how my day was beginning, who knew what the remainder of my shift would be like? Nevertheless, I asked God for help and settled into my routine.

It just kept getting worse. I had leftover work from the day before, more work given to me in the morning, and before I was able to make a dent in any of that, even more kept piling on top. I started feeling anxious. How was I going to get all of this done? Would I be able to complete each of my tasks with excellence? I worked right through to the mid-afternoon mark without stopping, but finally realized that I was so overwhelmed that I needed to take a break. I heated up my frozen meal and headed out to my car. Blasting the air conditioning and getting comfortable in my car seat, I was at long last able to relax a little. I said a prayer: God, I can't do this. Please help me! I'm trying my best, but I feel like that's not enough. Thank you that it IS enough for You, and help me to continue to work at it with all of my heart, in order to please You, and to not worry about what other people think. I called my husband--he told me to take a few deep breaths, and he read to me a devotion from Our Daily Bread. What an amazing husband I have! Even though his day wasn't going any better than mine, he took the time to encourage me. I texted my mom to ask for her prayers, gobbled down my food, and headed back inside.

The afternoon proved to go better than my morning. I focused on my work, knocked a good amount of it out, and even though I didn't get everything done, I felt like I could breathe again. As I walked out to my car that at the conclusion of the day, I thanked the Lord for--once again--carrying me through.

Our God is good! In the difficult times, He teaches us to rely on Him more fully. He shows His strength in our weakness. He displays His glory through our feeble attempts at obedience. And all the while, He shapes us more and more into the people that He wants us to be.

There is joy in the journey!