Be joyful always...

"Be joyful always;"-1 Thes.5:16....that just about sums it up, huh? Quick and to the point. But to really look at the words in that verse, and to take them to heart can honestly wreck your life.

Joyful-I've been thinking a lot lately about how joyful I am; not just happy, or content, or abiding, but truly joyful. I get frustrated easily sometimes, whether I show it or not, and it's quite simple for me to complain about anything and everything. Whether it's a bad day, something that I simply don't want to do, a dry spell in my walk with Christ, or even plans that haven't gone my way, I am pretty quick to be tempted to develop a sour attitude about it. Not what I'm commanded to do here at all.
This word goes so much more beyond even being happy. People who know me would probably say that most of the time I'm a pretty happy go lucky kind of person. But what a difference there is between the levels of happiness and joyfulness. What if we were joyful about life instead of just "happy" or "content" even, with the way things were?

Always- What a difficult word for me to get a grip on...always. Not sometimes, or when I feel like it, or when it's easiest, but ALWAYS. Never missing a moment. ...wow... it's a stretch for me to be happy always, let alone to the level of JOY?
...This is a lot to chew on for me...

In other news, I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately. Espeically marraige. Now before you get a little hung up on that word, let me explain. This has nothing to do with the fact that I am indeed in a relationship, and we are far far far from ever dropping the "m" word, if it even ever gets to that point. Again, let me elaborate...
This weekend, I went to a beautiful wedding of one of my very dearest high school friends who is now, infact, a missionary to China/North Korea. She met her husband while she was there, who was doind missions work there as well. Their wedding was one of the most simple, yet God glorifying weddings that I will probably ever attend. I knew that I was going to emotionally be wrapped up in it from the very beginning, when Don (the bride's dad) gave Josh(the groom) his daughter's purity ring, and told him that he gave it to him as a reminder of her emotional, physical, and spiritual purity. The foot washing ceremony, the couple's communion, even their vows, reflected their desire and passion for the heart of Christ...it was breaktaking.

The day before, my boyfriend told me that his brother and sister-in-law were looking into divorce details, and my heart broke. If there's one thing that I absloutley hate with a Godly fire, it's divorce. Marraige is forever, plain and simple. Vows are not meant to be broken, that's what makes them a vow. Divroce will NEVER be an option for my future husband and I. This is not to dog on my boyfriend's brother or speak ill of him, but when he told me this, my stomach literally sank. They have two small children that I quite enjoy being around, 3 and 2, and if nothing else, I wanted to weep for them. As my week has gone on, I've heard of more relationships being built, being broken, and being renewed. I'm not sure if it's in the water, but it seems like every time I log on to Facebook, someone is either putting up wedding pictures or getting engagged or breaking up. My pastor here is doing a series on the family...maybe that's why I've noticed it more? I don't know... either way, it's so amazingly sacred, and so amazingly under attack.

This is kind of all over the place, I guess that's what you get for not blogging for over a month, huh? :) But that's what's been on my heart...