Songs of Joy

Happy Sunday!

And oh my goodness what a beautiful Sunday it has been! We spent the morning chilling and watching church with beautiful sunshine making shadows through the window. This afternoon we then popped to the garden centre to buy some spring flowers and I then hung out in our little garden all afternoon planting and tidying up. It was really quite warm and didn't get dark until after 5.30. It was just lovely to spend some time outside- and to think only a week a go we still had snow on the ground!

This glimmer of Spring gives us so much hope for the year to come and changes to happen. I can't wait til I can hang out with my friends in my garden, not just be out there on my own. I can't wait to do church with pals and be close to each other in REAL LIFE. 

I've read a couple of psalms today, one being Psalm 130 for which I painted this page in my bible a little while a go now.

"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

    and in his word I put my hope.

6 

I wait for the Lord

    more than watchmen wait for the morning,

    more than watchmen wait for the morning." 

This time of Covid, across all our lockdowns and everything in-between it has felt like there's been a lot of waiting. Waiting for information, waiting for test results and waiting to be able to hug our closest people. I looked back over this picture in my bible and I felt it really showed how we're stood waiting for the sun to rise over the hills and today we saw that glimmer. Through the waiting we can put our hope in the Lord and hold onto the promises he freely gives to us.

Another verse which I've read over again today is Psalm 126,

"Those who sow with tears

    will reap with songs of joy.

6 

Those who go out weeping,

    carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

    carrying sheaves with them."

At church a couple of week's ago we listened to a talk on lament and how Jesus invites us to come and cry out to him. It's ok to cry. This verse is a reminder that through this time of hardship and weeping we'll come back singing songs oj joy. Joy comes in the morning. If we hold onto the Lord's word through this time we'll experience joy at the end. We can experience joy through relationship with Jesus. A Jesus who welcomes us with open arms to lament with him.

I hope your Sundays have been sunny and I hope these verses can be an encouragement to you today. It's 

ok to lament. The hope we have in Jesus' word reminds us that there will be joy.

Emily xx