Joy Without Circumstances 

By Melissa McGath | March 12, 2026

Returning home from my mission trip to Kenya has been harder than I expected.

Not because of the travel, but because of the contrast I experienced between what I saw there and what I returned to here. For over a week, my family and I served alongside the Love for Kenya mission team at Shangilia Orphanage. We spent time with more than 100 children, many widows, and members of the surrounding community. It was everything I expected, yet I could not have imagined the depth of joy in the hearts of these people who had so little.

Before the trip, I prepared a short devotion for the children from one of my favorite verses of Scripture, Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” I had previously learned that the word “shangilia” in Swahili means rejoice, so this verse seemed fitting. I went into the trip hoping to teach and encourage the children about the true joy given to us by God through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Little did I know the message would end up encouraging my own heart in ways I did not expect.

Many of the children we met had lost parents or suffered abuse or abandonment. Many of the widows were carrying burdens most of us will never fully understand. In Kenyan culture, when a woman loses her husband, she becomes an outcast. Widows are sometimes viewed as bad luck and even blamed for their husband’s death. The loss is not only tragic; it means social isolation and economic hardship.

And still, joy was so prevalent that it was hard to imagine that trauma and loss lurked in the shadows. Children and widows worshiped and sang freely. They prayed with expectation. And they celebrated small moments that many of us might overlook.

It made me pause and ask a question: Why do we so often tie our joy to circumstances?

Leadership has a way of training us to do that. We tell ourselves that joy will come when the pressure eases, when the plan works, or when the numbers move. Until then, we stay focused, responsible, disciplined. And while those things matter, they can slowly convince us that joy is something to earn rather than something to rest in and receive, moment by moment.

The apostle Paul wrote about rejoicing while sitting in prison. He was likely cold, wet, tired, hungry, and uncomfortable in every way. Yet he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” He emphasized how much we are to rejoice by repeating it!

What I witnessed in Kenya reminded me that joy is not a feeling or a reward of better circumstances. It is evidence of a deep relationship with and trust in God.

Those children and widows were not ignoring hardship. They were simply living in a way many of us have forgotten. They received each day with gratitude and celebrated what was in front of them. They trusted that God was present in the middle of it all. Watching them forced me to examine my own heart and the way I carry leadership.

I am learning that when I choose joy in the middle of responsibility, my spirit becomes steadier. I am less shaken by temporary setbacks and less controlled by pressure. My leadership becomes anchored in something deeper than outcomes.

I’m still processing everything I witnessed in Kenya as it settles into my heart. But one lesson has already become clear to me:

Joy rooted in Christ does not depend on what surrounds us; it depends on Who is in us.

So today, wherever you find yourself: Shangilia!

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Check out this short highlight video recapping my time in Kenya.

If this reflection encouraged you, find more stories, leadership insights, and faith-centered reflections on Voom Creative Insights.

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no meat; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Habakkuk 3:17-18