A couple years ago, I heard several people refer to their “word for the year.” I thought “Hmm…that’s odd. I have never had a word for the year. I wonder how you choose that?” Then, one morning, I read a verse and the word “change” popped into my head. Isaiah 43:19 says: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (NIV, Biblica Inc. 1973). I spent that year, and probably the one following, watching and waiting for the new things God was doing in my life. It was the year I started my master’s program at Liberty University Online. God really did make that verse come to life for me.

This year we started the year with 21 days of prayer and fasting. At one of the prayer meetings at church, the pastor had us take some time to open our Bibles and ask God to give us a word for the year. I didn’t think it would work like that, but honestly, God did give me a word in that moment: JOY. Psalm 97:11 says, “Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart” (NIV, Biblica Inc. 1973).

The first thing that caught my attention in that moment is “upright.” If you know any German, then you might know that my last name means “upright” in German. In 2011, my husband, my kids and I choose the word “upright” as our family word, along with Titus 2:12 as our family verse, which says, “It (the grace of God) teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (NIV, Biblica Inc. 1973). It was an amazing way to keep each other accountable to living up to our name.

But, in 2024, joy on the upright in heart? I have lived many years trying to be “upright”, but I can say that joy has been an unknown for me. As I have battled depression for most of my life, I don’t think I understand joy. But, I am trusting God to show me true joy this year, even in the midst of heavy-heartedness.

Here we are, five months into 2024, and I am just finishing the blog I started in January. It has been a busy season, but God is good. I have learned that joy is a choice. In many years of marriage ministry, I have told married couples that love is a choice. You may not feel like you love your spouse, but choose to act as if you did. The feeling will follow the action. And then I added forgiveness as a choice. It is hard to forget the hurtful words or actions of a spouse or friend, but every time I remember those things, I choose to forgive again. Eventually it gets easier to remember that I have chosen to forgive. So on the days when I feel sad, upset or heavy hearted, I am trying to remember to choose joy. I’m going to laugh and be silly with my granddaughter, even if my heart is not completely in it. And at the end of the day, I can look back and see the joy in my life.

It is a very slow process, but I am trusting that God is helping me choose joy every day, even when I don’t feel like it.

Thank you, God, that you are helping me choose YOU every single day of my life.