Today, I am joyful.
Yesterday was one of those giggly, whimsical, free-spirited, simply marvelous kind of days.
I don’t think anybody has as many of those days as one might wish.
Lately I’ve been running.
If you knew me, you’d ask, Who are you and what have you done with Hannah?!
Perhaps it was the incessant weight of laziness dragging me down after Christmas had come and gone with yet still a week to go before school started back, or perhaps it was all the delectable things one tends to eat around the holidays. I don’t really know what fueled my health-fire, but whatever it was, I am grateful. I have exercised almost every day this week, four of which included running in my neighborhood in the COLD.
But we’ll see how long this dedication lasts (I hope it’s permanent, of course!).
ANYWAY. Back to my giggly, whimsical, free-spirited, simply marvelous day (trust me–the running is not completely off-subject!). School has begun to feel like a bore, this year especially (early senioritis is my guess ;)), so goofing off in yearbook class and eating lunch with my best friends added the right amount of spunk to my day.
But the thing that really brightened my entire weekend was the ah-mazing news of my very first publication. (YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!)
About a month ago, I submitted a short story I wrote for my English class to an online magazine (just a local one–the Knoxville Public Library’s online magazine for teenagers).
Yesterday, during my yearbook class, I received an email informing me that my story had been selected to be featured in this month’s issue of the online magazine.
YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE MY ENTHRALLMENT AT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just when I was getting worried that I wouldn’t get accepted, that I would get turned down, that I wasn’t good enough, I hear a whisper (or, in this case, a SHOUT), telling me that indeed, I am. At least, I’ve got a fair shot in this world.
And so do you.
God is so good. All the time. Even when you think He isn’t listening, when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, when everything seems so hopeless, God is still good. He uses our beautiful talents when we are expecting it the least.
And I am so grateful for this.
So, to celebrate this victory, I went jogging.
Jogging for joy.
Joy that, on the times that I am feeling the most discouraged, God will use me.
And what a wonderful feeling it is to be useful!!
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