The Story Behind Joy Runs Deeper

“Joy runs deeper than despair.” — Corrie ten Boom

Over the last few months, this has become a very important phrase in my life. Joy runs deeper. Joy runs deeper than despair, than happiness, than anxiety. . . Than apathy. Joy runs deeper than all this, and more.

The Beginning: Two Phrases

While I was studying abroad in Europe, I read Corrie ten Boom’s book, The Hiding Place. And a phrase she wrote stuck out to me: “Joy runs deeper than despair”. I finished the book the day we went to visit Auschwitz. And her story, how Corrie and her sister helped others during the war, went to a concentration camp because of it, and how they glorified God through all of their experiences, was inspiring. I will never forget it.

Another phrase that came back with me from my summer abroad was again quite simple, from our studying The Lord’s Prayer, and my relating a verse to something Jesus said before being hung on the cross: “Yet not my will, but Your will be done”.

These two phrases, “your will be done” and “joy runs deeper” helped me to grow in my faith, and analyze the struggles that I was going through. They also helped me to establish a goal: To remember that joy always runs deeper than whatever else may be feeling, and that His will is better than ours, even though it may not feel like it at the time.

When I got back from Europe I wanted to start writing on my blog again, but there was no real structure or goal behind it. I wrote posts, and never published them. I tried to re-launch, come up with new ideas, and nothing worked. Finally, I decided that after 4 years of intermittent writing there, it was no longer the right place for me. I chose, instead, to start again. A new name, new goals, a new blog. When I decided to create a new blog, I knew just what the name had to be.

One of the neverendingly picturesque spots in Venice.

Joy Runs Deeper

This phrase reminds me to strive to be able to say honestly that my joy is deeper than anything else; despair, anxiety, depression, happiness, apathy. I don’t say things can’t be bad–I talk about my chronic pain, after all–but I want my joy to forever flow deeper than my struggles, or even momentary happiness. I want to find a reason. Not an explanation for the problems in life, but a reason to be joyful in spite, or because, of them.

And so, my purpose in writing is simple. I want to try to inspire, both myself and others. To bring joy, and a reminder that our joy in Him who is greater is deeper than anything we can imagine. To meet people that also love to read, eat, and be real with one another, in our joy and our struggles.

I want Joy Runs Deeper to grow into a community that believes that the joy in our life runs deeper than anything else.

(You can read more about the author here, and how to contact me! Don’t forget to subscribe in thee sidebar to the right to get a newsletter going on on the first of every month, and new posts in your inbox. Joy Runs Deeper will have new posts twice a week during the school year, three times a week when school is out, as well as Java & Joy every Saturday!)

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One of my favorite places from study abroad. . . Florence, Italy. *sigh*

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