The huzband and I slipped out of the camper in the morning so I could drop him off at the local Starbucks for a space to work. While driving back through town, I was admiring the unique mountains in this area of Utah, near Cedar City. Mountains full of red dirt and land dry like a desert; one may consider this land dull, barren and dry, yet I find it beautiful. Here, my soul was overwhelmed with gratefulness.

And I cried. Not for any other reason then because I love my Jesus so much. And this life isn’t a life if He isn’t present.

We have all probably had our fair share of mountaintops and our fair share of valleys, our fair share of fruitful springs and barren deserts; all metaphors for the good and the ugly this life holds.

In my own life, there have been seasons where all joy seemed lost; where hopelessness, despair, tears, and hurt seemed to be all that surrounded me; feeling as though I was gasping for air. Yet, even in the barren desert, God has brought beautiful life forth. It wasn’t overnight and it’s been hard. And sometimes, when I look back on some seasons, the only life I see that has come from it is that Jesus and I are still standing here today. And that my friends is also beautiful.

So when I sing, “I’ve got this joy and it won’t let go”, it’s not about me and what I can do. It’s not about me and my ability. It’s not about me and my faith. For truth is, I don’t have it; I really don’t. It’s all about Jesus.

It’s all. about. Jesus.

He has been so kind to me, so good, so faithful, for the one very reason that He never let’s go of me. He never stops loving me. He never stops seeking the deep, intimate corners of my heart.

So I sing, I cry, and I whisper, ‘I love you’ in an empty car.

Friend, I don’t know what season you are in right now. I don’t know what life may hold right now, but may this be a reminder, you are not alone.

The valleys, mountaintops, deserts and springs all hold a beauty that we have yet to behold. And if that beauty is that you are still standing with Jesus at the end, find comfort in that you are standing with the One who loves you immensely, with the One who is able, with the One who is present in the driest and darkest of moments, as well as the joyful and peaceful.

“I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for and confidently expect the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the LORD.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27:13-14‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Here are a few worship songs that go along with this, ones I have listened to this summer and that inspired some of these words.