Mackenzie Standing

The summer after my sophomore year of college, I went on a quest for joy. The whole year had been rough, but spring semester in particular. I felt under appreciated, unloved, and unnoticed. I was struggling with the weight of my sin and shame and feeling unworthy. It was the loneliest, hardest period I've gone through in my short life. If you've ever seen me cringe while discussing my college experience, know that most of my reaction is tied up in residual pain from that year. And so, after wallowing for quite some time (oh, you should see the blog posts from that era... except really, please don't look for them), I decided that enough was enough and I was going to look for joy. I didn't want the "happiness" version that seems to invade every corner of our society, though; I wanted true, Biblical joy. I just wasn't quite sure what that was. I wish I could say that I read a plethora of books, watched educational videos, and listed to many a sermon pod