I had a wonderful dinner last night with a precious friend. We try to at least grab a coffee together whenever I’m in town, so it was a special treat to have a leisurely dinner and really catch up. She’s been in ministry to women for a lot of years, and her words, both written and spoken, have been used by God to bring about healing to more than any of us can count. However, she’s had some pretty crazy, and sometimes extreme, ups and downs over the last few years. It’s been quite a season.

Since it had been almost a year since we’d last sat together, I listened as she told me some of the most recent goings on, and marveled at some of the body blows of change that had occurred. However, woven through her stories like a golden thread were accounts of God meeting her in each difficult spot, casting a ray of light in the darkness, showing her that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, He was there. And sometimes, He showed her in spectacular fashion. I smile, even now, thinking about it because I’m coming out of a similar season myself, and it happened that way with me, too. In the midst of a dark time in my life, even though I felt as far from God as I’d ever felt, He was still faithful to show Himself at work all around me. I just had to open my eyes to it.

When I got back to the house last night, my eyes caught sight of a movie I brought with me to watch with the girls. Pollyanna. One of my very favorites. If you’re not familiar with the story, Pollyanna is a missionary child who came to live with her stern and cold aunt after her parents’ passing. She’d been taught to play “the glad game” when things were hard, finding something good in every situation, based on thoughts like these…

Oh, yes; the game was to just find something about everything to be glad about—no matter what ’twas”

When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good—you will get that…”

… if God took the trouble to tell us eight hundred times to be glad and rejoice, He must want us to do it—SOME.”

… there is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it.”

Today is Good Friday. As a Christian, I see it as a day when something horrific was endured and conquered on my behalf. Light overcame darkness for me…in spite of me. It was a horrible but GOOD day, and I am not just thankful…I’m GLAD. It ushered in the Christian walk as we know it today, and I have to believe that we wouldn’t have been told to be glad and rejoice all those times in the Bible if God didn’t know we’d need it. We’d need to train our eyes to see the good because there would be a lot of crazy and bad and hurtful that might threaten to hide it. We’d need the encouragement to stay the course, by seeing that He was really still right there.

My friend obviously knows Pollyanna’s game, and, really, I suspect we all do. We just have to start playing it, and, well, Good Friday is a fine day to start…and be glad.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 ESV

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:13 ESV

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” James 1:2 ESV

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 ESV