Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

          You know, Lord, the way things are going on right now with sheltering in, etc., a friend suggested a joy box. A joy box? What is a joy box?’ “Oh, everyone should have one,” our friend exclaimed. “They are so easy to make, an old shoe box will do. Wrap it pretty with lovely paper and decorate it so it’s eye-catching.”

We listened while she told what goes inside: “Put into it selected cards, letters, notes and your favorite Bible verses; scraps of wee notes from special folks, little children, family mementoes and even some dried flowers. You put anything in a joy box that brings joy to you. Then, on a gray day for you, grab your joy box and sit down for a good cry, a hearty laugh, and feel hugged and loved. A joy box is for bringing back to your remembrance some special time or person. A joy box is a box full of memory joggers meant to give you a lift, breathe a bit of refreshing air on you, rejuvenate you and one might say, ‘It’s to lift your spirits!’”

We all chatted a bit, deciding that if we were going to make a joy box, we’d best begin immediately, looking for special things to put into our joy box, things that were good and pure and lovely. Friend “Julie” (name changed) read us this verse from Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, it there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.”

“Appropriate verse!” We said, deciding that that verse goes into our joy box first. We chatted a bit more, sharing things we might put into our Joy Box. Thank You, Lord, for special, sharing friends.   

Love, Mara.