Surprised by joy

The title of this post might have reminded you of Dr. NT Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope. It’s a great book and I almost used the same title. But, I kept interchanging joy and hope. Hope and joy. To try to figure out how I wanted to say what I wanted to say today. I’ve actually been trying to figure that out for weeks now.

What word do I use to describe what I’ve been surprised by? How I’ve felt lately?

It’s probably both - anyone know of a word that encompasses both?

I actually don’t think either works very well. Because what I feel is something deeper and has an element of loss with it too. But a loss that doesn’t sting as bad anymore, and is now accompanied with, well, joy and hope, laughter and peace. Let me tell you why.

(The rest of the post is for paid subscribers. If you’re wondering why, here’s an explanation. I also include why I give a preview of these posts to everyone. Not as a bait-and-switch! Believe me, that’s about as opposite of me as you can get. It’s simply to let you all know what content is in the paid posts in case it’s something you’re interested in.)