You're listening to Encounter, a simple daily podcast of sacred and mindful meditations

to help you encounter the divine presence of God all throughout your day.

If you want to have free access to the entire library of 500 meditations, I encourage you to

download the Encountering Peace app where all the meditations are free, as they should be.

My grandmother endured and kept a prayer journal over me and my sister from the day we were born.

She died at the ripe old age of 98, and I honestly felt a prayer covering was lifted off of me the day she died.

I felt exposed.

She used to make me promise to do two things. First, never get old. I didn't keep that promise.

And secondly, never forget that the sun will endure and rise in the morning. That I've never forgotten.

Whispered wise words for me to endure my sufferings because God endures, and the sun, yes,

will indeed rise.

In the midst of diminishing hope, do you ever hope for sunrise?

Do you ever long for enduring joy?

Well, this meditation from James, one is a reflection on that longing for enduring joy.

To empty yourself of the false hope the world offers and be filled with the joy in the presence of God,

the only thing that endures. So to begin, whether at the first

shining rays of morning light, or at the long shadows of evening dark, allow the next 15 minutes

to be a sanctuary, to contemplate the enduring peace, love, and joy of God.

Allow your breathing to settle and your eyes to drift from a soft gaze to closed,

from light to dark.

And center on this place of hope for a quiet moment.

This time of surrender, and a moment

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