I don’t want to have Joy today. It’s just my mood. I’ve had some things happen to me the last couple of days where people have let me down. And it has tried to evaporate my Joy. I have to be honest! I can’t even put this in a tidy, neat package, I have been hurt beyond belief with some people’s words of hatred towards me.
I don’t understand how to defeat this? And then hatred comes rushing in and her goal is to become a Joy robber. I put up a good front against hatred . I try to defeat her with my optimism and argue of other’s love for me. And it does hold her back for awhile. But it’s in the stillness of your heart when hatred once again whispers those words said to you, that it’s hard to forget. Hatred doesn’t want you to forget. She relishes the power of her words. She hopes to hold onto your heart and win you over to her too. She’s greedy in her pursuit. And today, it’s been hard to fight against her. It’s a weary fight and sometimes the outcome still hurts.
I have found some things to be true in this thing called hatred. What a person has given in power to hatred they will never really understand about the lingering effects. What once was spewed in unthoughtful words grows a seed in the one that is hurt. Hatred, she’s patient and sneaky, and is willing to remind you over and over the hurts someone caused your heart.
And then this thing happened. It’s sort of a silly thing. But on this chilly, blustery first day of spring, in unpredictable Ohio, a little patch of my yellow daffodils were bravely showing their colors. They possibly know of the coming storm with the predictions of snow, but they don’t care. Their destruction could be soon, but still they show beauty and grace and give joy. In this very moment they forget about the storm, they forget about taking time to hate this storm that will possibly destroy them, and they simply just bring joy. I went out to admire them and was feeling sad because I know they will probably be destroyed by the storm. But I then decided to bring them in and enjoy them for what they are created for.
They are bringing me such joy. How can simple life moments bring us such provoking thoughts? I don’t want hatred given off by others to absorb into my heart and take root. I want to be like these daffodils and have joy, despite the storm. I desire that if hatred from others is swirling around me, and trying to destroy me, that joy will still be radiating from me. Does the people’s words of hatred spoken to me still hurt? Yes, of course. But I choose to take the control from hatred and let Joy free my heart. I choose to be like that particular patch of daffodils bravely giving off joy when she could easily be putting energy in hating the storm.
A woman who chose joy 