Be Joyful Mail Club - March Letter

Be Joyful Mail Club

Greetings, friends! 

Spring is almost here! We are reminded once again that seasons change, both in nature and in our lives.

We all respond to change differently. I personally do not love change. I prefer routine and knowing what’s coming next, like the four seasons of the year. They come in order: spring, summer, fall, and winter. I can anticipate and prepare for these changes. They are orderly changes.

Except having orderly change all the time in this broken world is unrealistic, and even the four seasons can surprise us. Think of a time when the weather caught you off guard, even though you thought you were prepared! It happens a lottttt. If I’m honest, I struggle to see change as good. I get attached to things. But the ability for things to change is not always a bad thing.

In one of my favorite books by Jen Wilkin titled None Like Him, she writes: “In truth, I am telling temporary, changing things, ‘I need you to be God. Please just stay the same.’ But the worst part is not that I ask the world around me not to change, or to at least act convincingly as though it is not. The worst part is that, when confronted with my own entrenched sin, my immediate defense is to say, ‘That’s just who I am. I can’t change.’”

Except the only One who does not change is God. He alone is immutable; that title belongs to Him.

And that is good news for us! We do change! In Christ, we are a new creation. So at any moment you are tempted to fear the seasons of change in your life, remember that though things are bound to change because only God stays the same, not all change is bad. In the same way God brings good change in us, He brings good change around us. Nothing is wasted in God’s hands. Nothing escapes His sovereignty. 

Whether the sun shines brightly above you right now, whether clouds have made their way into your sky, or whether a rainbow has appeared celebrating that you made it through the storm, hold on to the promise that God does not change. He stays the same through it all. Let your hope rest in our immutable God.

 ☆ Scripture to memorize ☆

“Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever”

– Hebrews 13:8 

Joy In Hardships & Community

Behind the cartoon:

Flor is a flower who comes across a friend. Flor greets her friend and asks her how she’s doing. Flor’s friend (who is missing a few petals) replies that she’s anxious about the next time it’ll rain. Flor, who’s experienced the good things that rain (trials) can do to flowers, encourages her friend to set her guard down (the umbrella), as Flor knows that the rain will promote growth.

Flor’s friend, being aware of some of the good things that rain can do to flowers, also confesses that regardless of the good outcome, rain is still scary. In her opinion, it’s better to stay prepared, as she knows for a fact that rain will happen again and again.

Flor understands her friend, as she knows that rain is no easy thing to undergo, especially alone. Flor validates her friend’s fear and lets her know that she’s not alone. Next, Flor volunteers to go through the storm with her friend. And finally, as Flor’s friend thanks Flor and the rain continues above their heads, she sets her umbrella down, and they both embrace the beauty of her new shiny petals!

By now, I hope you understand the moral of the story. I titled this blog “Joy in Hardships & Community,” as this is exactly what hardships and community feel like to me. I’ve been on both Flor’s and her friend’s side of things.. feeling as though I must always keep my guard up because I sense something bad is going to happen, living on edge and exhausted because I feel like every day I’m fighting just to stay alive. On survival mode. What a joy it is to find friends who, in those hard moments when you’re standing in a puddle of rainwater, can look you in the eye and say, “Hey, I’ve been here before (or haven’t); you don’t have to go through this alone.”

Hardships & Community.

Similar to Flor, I’ve also witnessed how God’s Word remains true despite my circumstances. The more I tried to protect myself, the more I robbed myself of experiencing the joy of being His. He is my protector. He is my help and my shield (Psalm 33:22). God is working ALL things for my good, including the rain that I often foolishly ask Him not to send more of. Truthfully, I don’t always understand how the rain is good for me, but if God calls it good, then it MUST be good.

When I felt that the rain was too much and that it would surely drown me, I entrusted others and let them inside my storm to help me as God worked the waters for my good. I now so boldly recognize that growth happened in every tough season of my life. New petals formed every time. I’m forever thankful to God and His people.

As James says: count it all joy.

We don’t rejoice because trials are easy to endure; we rejoice because steadfastness (firm and unwavering faith) is promised after the test. At the same time, as we allow steadfastness to take full effect, it then makes us mature and complete in Christ. Ultimately, trials allow us to encounter God in ways we wouldn’t without them, and for that, we call them good.

<3

“There are rare and wonderful species of joy that flourish only in the rainy atmosphere of suffering.” - John Piper

Rubi,

Be Joyful Co.

Flor & Friend Stickers:

https://www.bejoyfulco.com/product-page/fleur-her-friend-sticker