My dear friend Marion sends me little texts when I need them. Be it a typo in my blog post, an interesting news story, or something cheerful to lift me up…I can always count on Marion to send me something sunny. Yesterday it was this lovely meme. I love dragonflies. They hover over our pool in the summer and rest on the tall grasses along the edge of the far field. They remind me of Evinrude…the character in the 1977 Disney feature, The Rescuers. I vividly remember a family night at the drive in theater when Daughter #1 was four years old. Dragonflies make me smile.

It was on this day…fifteen years ago…that I married Mr. Virgo. I had no idea whatsoever that he’d be gone so soon. These are the days that used to knock me down in my early days of grief. The first anniversary after he passed was really hard as it was just three weeks after he died. It’s a different life now. A different world, surely. Life is what we make it, I think. 

I am looking every day for joy. With all the crap that’s going on in the world right now, you would think real joy is a thing of the past. It’s hard to be joyful when others are suffering, and Lord have mercy…aren’t they suffering though? I should not…cannot…will not watch the news. When they warn you that some of the images are disturbing, trust them. Yet, in the midst of all that suffering, there are small snippets of joy. 

A musician playing the cello amidst the ruins.

Children being given parties with balloons and ice cream treats in the subways of Kyiv. 

Couples defying all odds and finding love and marriage between bombs.

The sheer act of standing their ground and standing up against tyranny brings a kind of joyful pride in the strength and courage of patriots…true patriots…who fight to defend their capital, not attack it.

That kind of courage humbles me. When I witness acts of bravery like I’ve seen the last few weeks coming out of Ukraine, I feel embarrassed by some of the whining and sniveling I’ve seen within our own shores. Yet, I still look for joyful things in the everyday.

As I worked on our taxes yesterday, I discovered we needed some more papers to complete them so there was a little work diversion. Once I figured out how to get the things we needed, we both received a weather notification. Rain was coming and we needed to get some work done on the camper to prepare for taking it to the shop today. I’m not sure why the refrigerator isn’t working, but hopefully it’s an easy fix. I’ll have to finish the taxes tomorrow.

We’ve decided to take one day off when the camper is finished and stay overnight at a local state park near the dealership…even if it happens next week as we prepare for the beach trip. We definitely need a camping fix and next week is supposed to be beautiful around here. We need to find our joy…even if it’s just in small moments spent in nature. We definitely need our beach break next week.

Even in the hardest of times, we have Jesus to bring us peace and joy. Knowing I can turn to Him, no matter what else is going on in the world, brings me such comfort. I’ll never be left without the weapons I need to fight the enemy. And, my oh my…the enemy is busy these days. But God is bigger…and stronger…and He WINS!

Who is God? Who is the Great I Am? He is Love…with a capital L. He is the source of joy when the darkness threatens to overcome. He is here…closer than a breath away. He lives in our hearts and loves us more than we could ever fathom. What more do I need than this?

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“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?””

Matthew 16:15 ESV