“Joy”
The time has come to make a choice…and I choose JOY!
Let it move you, let it move, let it move you.
Yeah, I choose JOY! Let it move you, let it move, let it move you!
Once upon a time, I truly struggled with the concept of “JOY”.
I struggled because my understanding was that since life is full of ups and downs, hills and valleys, easies and hards, and JOY couldn’t really exist ALL the time.
Which is why…now…I realize that sometimes you have to exploring a circumstance enough to realize that the JOY is there.
I recently found a little clarity about the dissonance of JOY.
Amanda and I are a blended family with 6 kids. The 3 oldest are college-age, and the other three are in various stages of high school. Of the 3 college-age kids, one is my biological kid. She my oldest, my daughter, AND my first full experience with the whole going off to college thing.
She’s doing a great job! She’s enjoying independence appropriately, getting involved in groups, getting homework done, and even checking in from time to time.
Recently, we had a chance to gather most of the kids together for her birthday. We drove to her school, took her out for breakfast and opened a couple of gifts.
On the way home, Amanda asked me, “Are you okay?” to which I responded, “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Well, a few minutes down the road I corrected myself, “No, I’m not fine. I miss her, but I’m also really proud of her.”
And it was THAT moment I realized that within the confines of one situation, JOY can occupy the same space as heartache/sadness/etc.
I don’t know what hard you have encountered, or will encounter, but I have to believe that if we can explore our “hards” enough, we can see God’s fingerprint to help bring a little JOY into the situation.
Here’s a short template that might help…
It’s hard to _____________, but I can take JOY in ____________.
It’s hard to not see my daughter regularly, but I can take JOY in the way she talks about being at college.
It’s hard to lose a job unexpectedly, but I can take JOY in the way friends reached out with support.
It’s hard to carry the weight of so much negative in our world, but I can take JOY in the small uplifting moments of my day.
These are some of my personal examples, but now I ask you…How could you apply this same concept to YOUR life?
I definitely recognize that this is NOT an easy thing to do. Sometimes that “hard” is like REALLY hard.
So, my advice…Don’t beat yourself up if you linger in the emotion of hard for a bit, but…try not to stay there. God doesn’t want that for you and He has some really great moments of JOY He wants to share with you!
Just be prepared that you might just take the bold step to Choose JOY!
~Jeremy