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Tuesday 23 September 2014

My Joy Stone

Yesterday, we were looking at stones on the beach, and Angela picked up a stone. At first glance, it seemed a bit run of the mill, until I got a closer look......

Hard to make out anything from the picture, but it seemed to spell the letters, J...o......Y
A few of the children thought the same, too. Made me think a little. We can choose to be joyful, or we can be just plain grumpy. Of course, it is easier to be joyful when we FEEL like being joyful. My joy, apart from in the Lord, has been in serving my family. There is JOY in serving others. Joy in meeting others' needs, and joy in giving, and being unselfish.
I had left my bag on the beach, and hadn't realised that the little ones had filled my bag with quite a lot of stones! I ended up lugging that bag a couple of miles, up steps, over rocks, beaches, and down steps.......Phew, I was feeling the weight of it. When I got back, I found all the stones! Reminded me of Pilgrim's progress, and Pilgrim's burden. If only I had realised I didn't need to carry those stones! Of course spiritually, Jesus takes our burden of sin, and makes it his own. Through HIS death on the cross. If only we repent, and believe, we can be relieved of this burden. The burden of sin.
Of course, even as Christians we can make life burdensome. By choosing to be joyful, and thanking God in EVERYTHING, we can make life a lot easier. I am going to call the stone my 'Joy' stone, and have put it in a trinket box, so I can be reminded of it when I don't feel especially joyful!