If you've been following my journey, you certainly know all the grief that last year held. I have spoken of it and posted several blogs during that long winter season of loss and mourning. (If you're new to reading my blog posts and want to know to what I am referring,

read: drowning, Difficult Realities, Letting Go, Fighting for LIFE, Abundance in the Hard Places, A Letter to my Boys).  I often wrote and talked about the overwhelming hurt that took up constant residence in my heart. As much as I talked about it all, there was so much that I was holding back. The grief that I felt in my heart was much more intense than I was ever able to express. I can remember sitting in my room with tears streaming down my cheeks literally screaming at the Lord as loud as I could that I just couldn't handle anymore. My heart was so devastated. I couldn't keep the wave of sadness and hurt at bay. 

    However, this year has been a completely different story...

"Satisfly us each morning with Your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good." -Psalm 90:14-15 (NLT)

     Now my heart overflows with JOY! The Lord done in my heart what Moses asked of Him; He has given me

gladness in proportion to my former misery. The joys of this new season have been as great as the hurts of the last.

    As I have seen everyone's posts of thanksgiving this month, I have been overwhelmed with such a wave of gratitude surging through my heart. What a difference a year can make! As I reflect upon how different my life is now from a year ago, how healing has sprung up in my heart, and how joy overflows as a celebrate the Lord's goodness in every part of my life I just cannot contain my joy! Seriously I have been smiling and laughing and singing forth joy non-stop. To the point that everyone in my neighborhood is asking what is going on with me. I keep telling everyone that I'm just sincerely, completely, in every aspect of my life, just HAPPY. And it's a good feeling!