Cartwheels of Joy

Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (The Message)

Yesterday I was catching up on my Google Reader from the weekend, and read this entry. (You should go read it, it's short). I could kind of relate. For a lot of this past year I've just felt off. It's been hard, for some of the big reasons I've mentioned on here, and for some smaller stuff that I've just been wrestling through, and some struggles that seem to master me over and over again no matter how hard I try to avoid them. When it boils down to it, this year has just been hard. Hard physically. Hard emotionally. And if I'm really honest, hard spiritually. I loved these verses that she pointed out in her blog post (and can I talk about how much I love The Message translation sometimes?!). I feel like this year has been one where the trees of my life haven't blossomed, and things have felt empty. But amidst all the hard stuff, there has also been the overwhelming joy that can only come from God. Amidst the hard times, I can stand in church or at a retreat or in my car as I'm driving down the road and sing joyful praises to my God. These verses were such a sweet picture to me of this year. In every challenging and hard thing I've walked through, the Lord has been there. Walking with me. Restoring me. Teaching me. Growing me. And if that doesn't make you want to sing praises and turn cartwheels I'm just not sure what will.