Rejoice in the Lord always

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

-Philippians 4:4

So what's the key word in this one? How about:

Always.

For fellow stroke survivors and loved ones, "always" is difficult. I didn't exactly rejoice when I couldn't use one side of my body. I look forward to the day that the lesson is finally driven home: Rejoice. Always.

Why? Because in the final analysis, a stroke can't take away God. Can't remove you from him, can't remove him from you. No matter what happens, even death.

And for that, rejoice.