Ok, so about the name

Well actually this wasn't my first choice. It turns out my original idea wasn't so, ehr, original. But it is appropriate. A few weeks ago I was sharing with a confidant that I had pretty much given up on praying (in that joking, but I'm really serious kind of way that people do). Rather than experiencing the intimacy and refreshing that's expected when one spends time in prayer, every time I began to pray I would just end up crying & just generally winding up exhausted, and my prayers were (seemingly) to no avail. And I just couldn't handle it. (Now before you start thinking I'm super spiritual or anything you must keep in mind I was only 10 wks post-partum at the time and still on a hormone roller coaster; still am.) Anyway, I had begun to simply offer up something like, "bless the day, keep everyone safe, help my life glorify You" then quickly switching on the TV or busying myself with a task (any new email?) before any depth of thought might try to overtake me. Silly I know, but true enough. Then came a beautiful day last week. I picked up the bible in the middle of the day and was drawn to Psalm 127. I place I like to go when I don't know where to go. Then perusing around the page I stumble upon the very familiar but forgotten passage of Psalm 126:5 "Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy." Cool, but even better was verse 6, "He who CONTINUALLY goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall DOUBTLESS come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Yahoo! The tears were/are not in vain! (Though I must warn there is a difference between seed bearing and self-pity tears.) Whenever I picture this scripture I always imagine a group of pilgrim like people coming down a dirt road off the side of a field heading home after a long day of harvest carrying the hay and singing songs of joy and laughing along the way because of the great blessing of the bountiful harvest. But that's only a picture of the second part of the verse. To get to that place, that same group of people must have toiled & sweat & thirst and generally worked hard - for many days on end mind you, to get to that one day of reaping. Isn't it interesting that we are always after the joy, but forget about the pain that often must come first? In fact I don't think the joy of that day would be so great if it weren't for the depth of work that came beforehand! So, I've determined in my heart to be a joy reaper; no longer afraid of the hard work of toiling (weeping) any longer. Care to join me?