Finding Joy in the Middle of Grief

Dear Brave Ones,

January 17, 2026, changed everything. My Mom went to Heaven. For 61 years, she was always there—and now she’s not. Some days it still feels impossible to believe.
If you’ve lost someone you deeply love, you understand. Grief comes in waves. I keep asking myself: Where is the joy?

For a while, I thought joy meant pretending I was okay—smiling, staying strong, holding it together. But I’m learning that real strength isn’t pretending. It’s trusting.

I hold onto Joshua 1:9: “Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

He is with me. I am not alone.
I’m discovering that joy is not the absence of sorrow. Joy is the presence of God in the middle of it.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Not the joy of understanding everything. Not the joy of having no pain. His joy—steady, kind, unshakable. A peace that makes room to breathe when grief feels suffocating.

Right now, joy looks quieter. It looks like remembering my mom’s laughter. Gratitude slipping in between tears. Letting myself grieve while still believing God is good.
As parents, leaders, or the “strong ones,” we often feel pressure to hold it together. But joy isn’t something we manufacture. It’s something we receive.
Some days I simply lift my hands and whisper, “Help me, Jesus.”
And His peace comes.

Jesus was described as “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief,” and yet He is the source of joy. So if you’re grieving, you are not failing at faith. You’re human. And you are deeply loved. WOWZERS! SO loved! You are a child of The Most High God!

I believe joy will return. Not forced and not rushed. Sometimes it comes as a memory. Sometimes, there is unexpected laughter or a song she loved. Sometimes, in her voice, reminding me, “This is when you have to believe what you say you believe, Julie, and trust that God has a plan and that He will work it all out.”

Today, I choose to release joy—not by denying my pain, but by inviting God into it. It brings comfort to my heart.

A Simple Prayer
Papa God, this hurts. Please carry what I cannot.
Use this pain, this void in my heart, for Your good.
Heal my spirit, soul, and body.   

Help me remember the good times I had with my mom here on earth. Please take good care of her and let her know I will see her again when it is time. For now, I chose to say, Your kingdom come. Your will be done—on earth as it is in Heaven. And I choose to believe the best is yet to come!

Amen.