Joy

joy |xará
the awareness of God’s grace, favor; joy “grace recognized”

Trauma often always leaves a mark of stoicism, an abandonment of emotion. It leaves you tense, quiet, vigilant, always prepared to run or fight, never caught off guard. Seeing unbroken smiles like these on myself more often this year has been a testament of God’s absolute goodness.

I would often wake up wondering whether the day was gonna be a great one or the worst. I would often hide with a pretentious smile, holding myself together for others.

Yet, the truth I learned in the midst of hard times was that joy is not found in circumstances, but in recognising God‘s grace in your circumstances. To dig deep in faith and hold true to God’s goodness in difficult moments is what defines your trust in God.

The presence of suffering does not indicate the absence of God, for He is present in all things. The moment you allow Him to be present in your pain, you get a deeper revelation of His grace. For He is not afraid of pain. His crucifixion and sacrifice was enough to understand your trauma, yet He does not leave you in your grave. God holds you, keeps you and in due time He raises you, until you can smile again, and testify that you have seen His grace in the midst of even the darkest situations.