The Rejoice Plan

I received my The Rejoice Plan on a 4 inch by 5 inch sheet of paper in a Christmas card given out by a church in Fort Collins to the people who were incarcerated in Larimer County jail for for 2018 Christmas season. It resonated with my heart deeply and I started to begin each day with reading it. I became attached to it so much that I ended up mailing to myself in DWCF the morning I was transferred from county to COC. In fact, the first letter I received here was my letter was my cherished Rejoice Plan.

It looks a little different now with the little add-ons I have wrote on it. One example is that under the "I LOVE people / I forgive those who have hurt me / Forgive me, Lord, for the harm I have caused others," I have written, "and please help them to a place of forgiveness." Or under, "Thank you, Lord, for the strength to live this day," I wrote a definition of strength I had read somewhere that struck me. It reads: "Strength means to receive worth, dignity, status, power, and well-being." Lord, please give credit to whomever I borrowed this from. I believe it was a Turning Point devotional, but I don't remember for sure where I came across it.

As with reciting the Lord's Prayer, when I read or recite this Rejoice Plan, one thing jumps out as more important—maybe for that day, that week, or that season, and it sticks with me. Hence, finding the add-ons, the highlighting, and the underlined words. My Rejoice Plan shows its years of use. I also see my own years of growth within myself and my faith. It has seen me through tough and dark days—reminding me who is actually in control; through good times—reminding me God is the author of my joy. On days I am facing a dreaded task, the lines of Psalm 118:24, "This is a day the Lord has made, I shall rejoice and be glad in it," strikes a cord deep in my heart. One day it might strike me as, "Wow, the Lord didnt have to make this day; He did, so there must be a reason, a purpose for this day." On another day I might be struck by the word rejoice: what it means to me, to those around me, to staff, to the world. Then I have to ponder how much more, bigger, grander, deeper it means to the Lord. I know that it reminds me to find Joy wherever I can. Most times, the simplest of Joys bring the most lasting Joys and I hold onto these through the dreaded tasks, through the pain.

Some days it is a reminder that God has a plan for this day, and even though I feel insignificant; HIS plan includes little ole me. Other days the part which states, I am HIS CREATION, grabs me. Still other days it is the Health in my mind, body and spirit, or the creative endeavors. I continue to find nuggets every day. Maybe the biggest, best gain I have received from this Rejoice Plan is that it really takes the focus from me, it reminds me whose I am ('cause I am not mine), and who is truly in control. Encouraging me to seek time in His presence through HIS WORD. When I focus on HIS WORD this fallen worlds issues have NO POWER.

I pray those who read this will be as touched by its message as I have been and will share it with others. I have been creating paintings as canvases for The Rejoice Plan, which I lovingly paint each letter over or as part of the painting. I have gifted these to people and I plan to continue doing it. I sent one to my mom, she took a picture of it and posted it on her Tik-Tok feed. Hmm, a Rejoice Movement?

-Charlynn Benjamin