Tasting JOY!

      I live in a place where a favorite pasttime of many is "wine-tasting" tours...going to various wineries to sample their products. The object is not the tasting,of course, but finding something you like and buying more. It's like Costco with samples of food spread throughout the store, where you can have a full meal by the time you're done shopping!
      There's an old song by Bill Gaither that starts:  "I have tasted of freedom; I can see where He's leading, for shackles can hold me no more." Those words have been going around in my head this week, with one change: "I have tasted of joy."
     My joy journey started a long time ago, with an inner desire for joy. I now know God created me that way. He made me for JOY! And along the way I've tasted some JOY...

• The birth of my children
• Making deep, lasting friendship with people around the world
• Watching God change lives when people meet Jesus
• Listening to all 5 of my delightful grandchildren
• Living near Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier
• Sitting by the Straits of Juan de Fuca listening to the gulls and surf

     Those joy-tastings haven't been powerful enough, in and of themselves, to sustain me through the trials. All my life I've been looking for more and more real joy. And I am now experiencing it more consistently...even in tough stuff.
     This week people I know were devasted by losing their jobs; a child of good friends was attacked; people struggled with relationships and pain. And when I woke this morning, I still felt joy, and I know there's more to come!
     Does this make YOU hungry for real JOY?