IT’S FRIDAY! After a long week of juggling work demands, end-of-school-year activities, and household problems, Stacy (not her real name) wanted to shut out the noise of the world with a bubble bath and her cozy bed. She envisioned a weekend of hiding out behind the walls of her home where no one could demand her emotional or physical energy.
A coworker had popped into Stacy’s office cubicle throughout the week, and invited, well, actually insisted, that she come with her to a women’s event on this particular Friday night. STACY’S Friday night that was supposed to be HER retreat. Deciding it was easier to postpone her “me time” and appease her friend for a couple of hours, Stacy begrudgingly agreed to join a room full of women who would probably rather be soaking in a tub too.
She made her way into the building and was greeted by excited women who seemed pretty happy to be there on a Friday night. As she began to check out the various exhibitors around the room, she decided that maybe this wasn’t such a bad detour on her way to her weekend retreat. She listened to women share about how to make healthier snacks, save money with couponing apps, and turn dreams into reality by creating a vision board. At the end of a few hours, Stacy felt something stirring inside that resembled happiness and hope. Maybe life could be more than just a constant desire for the week to end.
As the event came to a close, a speaker described her lifelong struggle with body image and depression. She shared how she woke up one Sunday morning, married with two kids, and by the end of the day she became a single-mom, by no choice of her own. She described her struggles with weight and life’s difficulties, then shared God’s promise to her from the Bible: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT). She explained that God loves her so much that He gave His Son, Jesus, to die for her sins so that she can live forever with Him (John 3:16). The speaker’s life had been transformed and she finally found joy through her relationship with Jesus. She was now 50 pounds lighter with a new husband and a life full of possibility.
Wow! This had turned out to be quite a Friday night! As Stacy walked back to her car with the evening’s events swirling in her mind, she felt joy springing forth from her renewed spirit: she was heading home with anticipation of a new life filled with hope and possibility. The next morning, after experiencing Stonecroft’s Detox event, she wrote this Facebook message to the speaker:
“It was definitely God that I was there last night because I just went as a favor to one of the girls I work with. Thank you for speaking hope into my life last night. That’s what I’ve been praying for in my earnest prayers. I’ve had a lot of those lately, mostly bitter and angry prayers. I just recently got betrayed and hurt more than you can possibly imagine at a church I was working with and I just haven’t been able to pull myself out of the rut wondering why God keeps allowing my heart to be broken and my world to be shattered over and over. I have been dealing with a lot of depression and struggling worse than ever, so meeting you last night was definitely a God send. Thank you for your prayers and keep them coming please!”
Stacy finally found her Friday Joy.
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Friday Joy
Melissa Lobozzo
August 15, 2016 [printfriendly]