Choose Joy

For the last two weeks it seemed like all my things and many parts of my body were falling apart! None were getting fixed even though I presented each to the Lord every morning. The wreckage just seemed to be piling up.

When God didn't seem to be listening to my prayers I began to hear a good friend's voice in my head. Over and over during this last year she had said, "It seems like my body fell apart in my 74th year."

Alarmed, I asked, "Oh, my God, is this what I've got to look forward to all next year?" (I'll be 74 in a couple of months.) Needless to say, I was getting more impatient, disheartened, and discouraged with each new problem. My burden was becoming heavy indeed.

Then Connie, one of my daughters, called. After listening to my complaints for awhile she said, "OK. I'm going to pray for you." That helped me change my attitude, but it wasn't all the Lord had planned.
A couple of days later, eight of us attended Connie's birthday lunch. Because of our talk she bought everone who attendd a 'Joy Journal'. When I explained the circumstances I was going through several others began to share all the problems piling up at their homes. But none of them had connected their attitude to a lack of joy either.

However, later that afternoon I was listening to an interview with Ann Romney. The reporter asked how she kept a positive attitude in the face of breast cancer and MS. She said, "I learned a longtime ago to choose joy."

Sometimes I'm thick-headed but not that day. I clearly got the message and wondered why I even needed the reminder. I had learned many years ago that the Holy Spirit brought joy into my heart but I had to choose to keep walking in the attitude. Also, even though joy makes me so spiritually strong I can fight any spiritual battle it is so fragile that disappointment, discouragement, and impatience, let alone unbelief, are enough to drain my supply and leave me dry and feeling defeated.

Choosing joy again has totally changed my preception of my life. The problems haven't yet changed but I have. The burdens are no longer heavy and I have no doubt that what I need, God will supply. Maybe because we humans continually need the reminder of others is one of the reasons the writer of Hebrews wrote, "Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on..." (The Message, 10:25) Thank you, Connie, Lacey, and Jan!