Don't give up...

"Reflecting on this afterward, I realized that I tend to divide my minutes into two categories: 

living and waiting to live. Most of my life is spent in transit: trying to get somewhere, waiting to begin, driving someplace, standing in line, waiting for a meeting to end, trying to get a task completed, worrying about something bad that might happen, or being angry about something that did happen. 

These are all moments when I am not likely to be fully present, 

not to be aware of the voice and purpose of God.

...and I need to learn. Joy is at the heart of God's plan for human beings. 

The reason for this is worth pondering for awhile: Joy is at the heart of God himself. We will never understand the significance of joy in human life until we understand its importance to God. 

I suspect that most of us seriously underestimate God's capacity for joy." 

-John Ortberg, "The Life You've Always Wanted"

I wonder how many times we overlook God, how many times we refuse to take part in the pure joy that accompanies being alive, how many times we stop our hearts from beating and just sleep it all away.

There's joy to be had here.

And I'll admit, most days it's a fight to just grasp for even a minute. You've worked perilously all day, with no accomplishments to be seen. You've fielded complaints from bitter hearts and you've come home to an empty house, your heart crying for someone to just pay attention.

You're done. You're over it.

You've lost your joy and you've beheld that there is nothing joyful about living anymore.

Your eyes are swollen, your voice is scarred with a rasp, and your heart is marred with past rejection.

You've. Given. Up.

Your heartbreakers, lost passions, unreached dreams have conquered you.

You can't fight anymore.

Joy is out of your reach and misery is the only thing within it.

You're alone and your lies have overcome you.

If I know anything, it's that God and His abundant love are always within your reach.

It's that joy is always worth fighting for.

And sure sometimes it's lost in the shadows of the bad days, the days worth leaving unmentioned, but JOY is always crying out for you to hold.

It's for you to have and to hold, love.

Victory has already been had, dear daughter and son. He won the battle for you, when you gave up the fight, long ago.

Your life is worth living. You are worth loving. Joy, love, truth, grace, and hope: are all things that are within your reach.

You can overcome. You will overcome.