Today's Encouragement

When It Seems Like Joy Has Left The Building

KariAnne Wood

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (CSB)

It was just one of those days — a day when everything went wrong and nothing went right.


I over-curled my hair so it closely resembled a poodle’s. I forgot to set the timer on the coffeemaker, ran into a sticky spider web, and just missed the 90-percent-off sale in the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby. I awkwardly wasn’t funny when I thought I was going to be, and on five different occasions I misspoke, opening my mouth and inserting my foot.

I was still frowning when I arrived to pick up my daughter Whitney from basketball practice that afternoon. As she slowly climbed into the car, I sighed impatiently.

Then I made my way down the back roads to our farmhouse while the same thought kept spinning around in my head like a chorus in a song: Why? Why did a day like this have to happen to me? Where’s the sunshine?

When we pulled up to the house, I grabbed my bags, shut the door, and stomped up the sidewalk. I got to the top step of the porch, turned around, and yelled across the yard: “Whitney! Where are you? We only have a few minutes before we have to leave for your brother’s game. We are going to be late.”

A tiny giggle came from behind the car. “Hold on, Mom. I’ll be there in a just a sec.” Then Whitney bounded up the sidewalk, grinning from ear to ear.

“Wait until you see this!” she said, holding out her phone. “You won’t even believe it.”

Irritated, I glanced down, expecting to see a social media post or a joke or something she thought was funny.

But instead?

It was a photograph she’d just taken of the sky overhead — an incredible, amazing, awe-inspiring glimpse of God’s handiwork, with beams of sunlight dancing through the clouds.


My anger melted away. This glorious scene had been unfolding in the sky before me, and I’d been so focused on myself and my silly problems like my hair and the clearance-aisle mishap that I almost missed the amazing sight right in front of me.

How often do we turn our gaze inward and overlook the beauty our heavenly Father has prepared for us? How often do we concentrate on the things of this world instead of turning our eyes to what’s truly important?

If you’re like me, when it seems like joy has left the building, I need to remind myself often of what’s true: “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Whatever you’re facing today, take time to look up, and remember that God’s big enough to handle it. He made today! Even if your hair has gone poodle on you.