Streams in the Wasteland

Today I was just really grateful, and as I'm learning, gratitude is the starting place of joy. I felt extraordinarily happy today, and I realized that it all started when I woke up giving thanks. Learn to pour out thanks, and you'll be filled back up by joy. I used to think that being happy was about waiting to be brought to a different place. But being happy is about having the faith that joy will be brought to you right where you are, like water in a desert. You might not be in the ideal location, but why not rejoice over the water? You wouldn't take a jug of water and smash it to the ground in the midst of the blaring sun and sweltering sand just because it wasn't enough water for your lifetime. No, you'd drink it, joyful for the bit of refreshment, even in the desert. So why smash and blaspheme the spots of joy we receive even on the bad days? They might not be enough for our lifetime, but they're certainly enough for the moment. Streams in the desert take time, but you will be given your portion until they are furrowed. "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19