Count it all Joy

I strive to be transparent in life and on social but there’s an understanding that social media is just a person’s “highlight reel”. Why is that? How did we get here?

I’ve been noticing that every time I go to share an honest story or caption on my personal account about the realities of pregnancy, a little voice inside says “don’t post that”. Why? Because in my transparency of the hard stuff, I believe I will come across as ungrateful, spouting whiny white privilege. Applying this specifically to pregnancy, how could I possibly publicly complain when the miracle of life, something that so many long for and do not receive, is happening inside of me?

How many of us grew up being told “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” This saying may have been taught with a different intention (only speaking pleasantly to people growing up), but how many of us have held our tongue from sharing an honest moment—a real moment of hardship, struggle or discontent because of those words deeply engrained in us? Because what we were going through wasn’t “nice”. Because we know we should be thankful, to “count it all joy.” How many of us are guilty of spiritually bypassing difficulties because they aren’t “nice” to talk about or deal with?

How can we speak a hard truth in love into a brother or sister’s sinful lifestyle if we only ever speak if we have “something nice to say”?

How can we share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with our neighbours if we only ever speak if we have “something nice to say”?

How can we open up and be transparent about how hard life is sometimes if we only ever speak if we have “something nice to say”?

And how do we make sense of it all in light of the words “count it all joy.”

The comfort of James‬ ‭1:2-4 is the use of the word ‘WHEN’ (you meet trials of various kinds)—not ‘IF’. I believe this is an invitation from God to honesty. A proclamation of our capability to share the raw and the real, the already AND the not yet’s of life. To share the here and now not just the tidy sorted and already answered prayers.

So yes, I am thankful for 8 months of healthy pregnancy, but MAN today was hard—and I know He is working on me in this too. --- Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ ‭| ESV