Cup of Joe

There is this coffee shop pretty close to my house. This coffee shop has a barista named Joe and she is absolutely fantastic. I do not know her very well but every time I am in there she is always there to serve me with a smile. She has made her own drink that she created about a year ago that is absolutely fantastic, it's called a "cup of Joe". It 's kind of an odd combination, but if you enjoy coffee, coconut, and caramel than this is the drink for you. I have only been in there about three times over the course of the past year, but before I went to college this semester I decided to grab one last "cup of Joe". She served me the drink and asked for my name because apparently I am one of the only people who orders this drink. We talked about school and what her future plans were, but the point of this is that she has joy...which not a lot of people have now a days. I've been really struggling to find joy in my life lately because school gets hard, being away from friends and family is hard, and finally I miss my cat a lot:). 

Trying to find my joy in college can be hard when over and over again you are hit with test and then assignment and then another place that you have to be... it is so exhausting. But you know what never gets exhausting or tiring... finding joy. I think back to the song "I saw God today" by George Strait, which I know is so old fashioned, but let me tell you what that is a fantastic song. The story behind the song is that while his wife had been in labor he went outside to get some air and had a moment with God. I think one of the best lines in the song is "His fingerprints are everywhere I just slow down to stop and stare, open my eyes and then I swear. I saw God today". Friends, you can find joy in God throughout the day, however, when you go into the day thinking that it is just going to be a total failure or you're so busy you can't do anything for yourself then yeah it's going to be a bad day. But if you stop for a minute and look around you will find the joy. Whether this is the fact that you are able to receive an education, have a roof over your head, or food on the table , my mom always told me "you don't have to look far to see how blessed you actually are". Don't go looking around for earthly things to fill you with joy, instead look to God to see the moments He places for you in your life (Romans 15:13). 

Sometimes it may be hard to find the joy but I promise you that it can exist even when things get so dark. One of the simplest stories about joy is the birth of Jesus. This long awaited Messiah came into the world in a literal barn. The angels, wisemen, and shepherds were there to glorify Him and to spread the joy and good news that we were saved. So if you simply have no other part of you life to look at joyously know that you have a savior who loved you enough to die for you, praise the Lord for this!

May the peace and love of God be with you always,

Leah Carpenter