Joy, happiness-whatever you want to call it-is something everyone wants. Would you feel joy if you won the lottery? I sure would! How about if you got a new car? They look all shiny and smell good. What if you reconnected with a friend you’d lost touch with years ago? Wouldn’t you love to catch up?
Here’s a list of some things that have brought me joy in the past week.
1.The students who attend the local high school where I work raised over five thousand dollars to help defray funeral expenses for two students who died in a car accident over the weekend. The accident was a great tragedy which almost breaks my heart, but it brought me joy to know that the students cared enough to help a grieving family.
2.It brought me great joy when so many of my friends and family members remembered my birthday and either called or sent me a card.
3.As I walked into the door yesterday, one of my coworkers stopped me to say how much she enjoyed The Best Selling Toy Of The Season. It made my day.
4.It’s cold in South Carolina, just as it is in the Mid West and the North East. My car was cold when I left work yesterday, but when I got home and went inside I was greeted by the luscious smell of the pot roast I put in the Crock Pot before I left home. What joy to smell such a warm, homey aroma after being out in the cold.
None of these things are especially significant in themselves, and possibly none of them would have pleased you, but I think true joy lies in the small things of life. Most people I know are so stressed and harried they think joy is something they’ll experience in the future when the kids are grown, or maybe after they’ve made a lot of money and can travel to exotic locations. I do it too, so I know how it goes.
Personally, I’ve resolved to do better. I don’t want to come to the end of life and find I’ve missed so many chances to find joy. Okay, what about you? Tell me what gave you joy this past week. Everyone who responds will be entered in a drawing for an ecopy of either Purple Heart or The Welcome Inn. Your choice.
I've been trying to reconnect with a friend from high school for the past couple years. No one has been able to locate where she is, but they are looking! If I could find her and just say "Hi!" that would truly bring me great joy.
ReplyDeleteIt would me too, LuAnn.
ReplyDeleteMy most joyous moment this week occurred during a conversation with my mother. We were talking about all of the stressful things that have been occurring in the family of late. The most significant of which is my grandfather (mother's dad) passing away New Year's Day.
ReplyDeleteIn the midst of speaking about all of the events associated with his passing and memorial, an absolute sense of peace came over me. I found so much joy in all manner of things at that moment.
1) How wonderful a man he was.
2) How peaceful his passing was.
3) The fact that his family surrounded him as he slipped away.
4) The beauty of the memorial ceremony.
5) The peace with his death that my mother has found.
We mourn his death, but celebrate his life.
M
That's beautiful, Emma. He must have been a wonderful man.
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine. It's been a rough week mentally, but on Saturday I had an "up" day. There was an editor chat on one of the groups and boy was it not only exciting, but invigorating. To find out ways to better my MS's and increase the chance of exceptance was truly wonderful...downside was I spent almost all day on the laptop and my hip went out of joint...kept me in bed all day Sunday. Bummer!
ReplyDeletediane mcentire
I had a conversation with some people from church this past Saturday night and we talked about life being a journey and finding joy in the journey. It was interesting in that the others in the discussion were at least half my age. I told them that it took me a long time to find joy in my life and when I look back I see that I spent way too much time being depressed and focusing on the things I didn't have that I never saw what I did have. Now that I'm older I realize what I do have and that everyday there is joy to be had. You have to take a chance on what is out in the world. Grow where you are planted. Good things are waiting for you here. The journey is your life. If you wait until you graduate from college, or have the house you want, or have children, or whatever you want that is will make you happy, you are missing out on all the wonderful things God has in store for you. Life is good and finding joy in the small, simple things makes life wonderful.
ReplyDeleteDh and I have both been home sick much of the past week. Moments of joy have included getting out of the shower and not having sinus pressure or being able to get a full nights sleep last night. Also my kids not getting sick and them making me chicken noodle soup.
ReplyDeleteAnother moment of joy for me was when DH got a call for his birthday from an old family friend. The call was special for two reasons. One, her husband had been DH's mentor when growing up and closer to DH then his own family. The husband died several months ago. She means alot to DH. It was special that she remembered in spite of not seeing DH for months at a time. Two, our own families live far away from us and even though we call them, they settle for sending a card sometime during the birthday month at best.