Welcome to Los Angeles: Choosing~ JOY~

It is easy to make choices when they involve simplicity. But what do you do when you feel completely, utterly out of control? The word by definition means: the ability to keep within bounds or direct the operation of. Let's be honest. This year has exposed for so many of us just the absolute inability to function outside of certain bounds. Let's take the movies for example. Something so simple we once enjoyed without a second thought has become a source of anxiety, fear. Will the person or people sitting next to you expose you? How about eating out? Shopping? We once breezed past one another without a thought that we were "standing too close".

Too close. This would be a perfect descriptor for how I feel concerning the virus that has repeatedly shut down most of the globe, which again, would never have been a thought just one short year ago. After having been quarantined for nearly two months at the end of June 2020, I thought, surely this will be the last time. Rona had other plans. I once again ended up quarantined with my family for the last half of my stay in Arizona last month due to two family members testing positive. Though I repeatedly tested negative, in quarantine I stayed because of having been exposed. I thought, ok, I will use this time to reflect & rest.

I always try to find a silver lining in any situation. So much of life, especially recently, can be so heavy that to commit to depression over it just feels like a waste of emotion. But can real JOY be found- even in the very midst of what every fiber in your being tells you is the opposite? I believe the answer is a resounding YES.

Enter my time here in Los Angeles. I arrived with excitement & anticipation on January 7th for the 5 months ahead that were sure to be filled with activity, absorbing new concepts, & outreach. It has been every bit of that descriptor- full of meeting new people, moving in with 6 wonderful women that I already adore (thank You Jesus) & teachers who are beyond rare in our culture. There's just one modification: rona. Yikes. Yes, I entered into a 5 month program with the knowledge that this could be a very real possibility. This virus has been rearing it's ugly, microscopic head once again in recent months creating general havoc amongst the population of the globe. However, I had hoped beyond hope that some way, somehow it would remain "out there" & not dampen what I desired to be a mostly uneventful DTS.

Once again, rona had other plans. (I refuse to give it the satisfaction of a full name for the sheer hatred I have for it). I digress. My housemates & I, along with the other members of the DTS, & now several staff members & teachers have been quarantined for the better part of a week due to several students, & a few staff testing positive. They are following CDC guidelines to a 'T' along with each student/staff member having to test negative twice within three days of each test in order to leave quarantine. It has changed &/or modified much of what was planned for this 5 months, moving our meetings & classes online, as well as cancelling many of the events they had planned. But necessity demands we be fluid in a rapidly evolving situation. A teacher of mine once said it best, "Blessed are the flexible for they will not be bent out of shape".

I have once again tested negative, perhaps giving clout to the theory that having had the virus once gives you a certain immunity. We have been unable to leave our home since last Thursday. SO what do you do in this scenario? I have painfully learned through past experience that to 'kick against the goads' only brings harm to yourself, & others around you. So I have made a choice: I. CHOOSE. JOY. I have chosen to give every day over to the Father. WHAT do YOU want to come out of this time? It is a surprise to us, but not to You. Did He cause this? No. Is He turning it around for our good? Absolutely. Because that is what He does BEST. He takes what would have been for our harm & turns it around. The Word says He can use ALL things together for our good: if we let Him.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, & I love this " I have chosen love, because hate is too heavy a burden." So I pose the question once again: What do you do when you feel out of control? Most of the world world has gone into deep places of depression, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, panic. We have seen over & over within this last year what is actually in us as collective humanity. What is actually within is what comes out in times of uncertainty & pressure. Pressure is the great revealer of the true state of the human heart.

I have been stretched & challenged in nearly every way possible over the last few months. It has exposed my foundations, & forced me to face exactly what I trust in times such as these. Do I choose to give in to every emotion that surfaces, riding the 'waves' of adversity? Or do I dig deep, lift my eyes up & make a conscious choice that no matter WHAT comes my way, I will TRUST HIM- allowing His JOY to be my strength. I will go with the latter. And like Mr.King once so wisely said, I CHOOSE.

~PRAYER POINTS~

*Please continue to lift myself, the teachers, the Compassion DTS I am in, the staff & the teachers in PRAYER. This is the first time they have had an outbreak, & they are absolute ROCKSTARS for keeping this all running with excellence & integrity. But they are tired!

*I was re-tested this morning. I will remain in quarantine until I receive a SECOND negative result. Please continue to pray that the Lord will have His way through all of this. As the oldest student in my house, & the DTS, I have been given the unique opportunity to lead hearts to Jesus through all of this, as well as practically serving the students & leaders in walking through & overcoming covid since I have already walked through it.

*Continued protection as I walk out my time here in LA, working & living so closely with my classmates. It is impossible to know who may have been exposed, so pray for wisdom for me to know how to walk this out.

*Ongoing provision. I have begun having some inklings on what I may do when the DTS comes to a close, which I will not yet share on until I have received clarity from the Lord. No matter what, I know God's got me as He always has! If you would like to partner with me for this next exciting chapter, please let me know! I would be HONORED!

THANK YOU to those of you have have PRAYED, SOWED (you know who you are), BEEN A FRIEND & WALKED THROUGH so many seasons. It was one of the most difficult decisions to move away from Kansas City, but day by day I have further peace & confirmation that this is the leading of the Lord. I love each of you SO much. Until next time! ~Jo