I am a visual thinker, and I immediately thought of this as a full-circle issue. We start with joy as a child… How could we be born any other way? We either learn to accept grace (my favorite definition is ‘undeserved forgiveness’) and give grace, or we don’t. That determines whether we can build strong relationships, because God knows it is required to do so. Life then puts us through trials, starting too young for some. We develop our character and, in the process, we strive for joy despite those challenges – and the process continues.
As I write this, I’m developing a better understanding of why the quote stood out to me.
You see, I, like most of you I’m sure, have faced some trials. Some pretty big ones, and some starting out way too young. I have often been asked where I find my joy. The answer is the faith I have in God. I think it’s worthy to note that I have been tested and I give grace and strive for joy because I truly want to add value to this world I live in. I want to use what I learned through each challenge as a tool to sharpen me as a human being. My little “carpet square” of the world wants to radiate happiness and inspiration.
We have a choice to turn our trials into joy. I hope you’ll choose that with me. The world needs us right now. My promise is that I’ll continue to encourage you to do so… It’s hard some days, I know.